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JACQUES    CARTIER, 


FIRST 

EsTABLlSHMliNT  UF  THE   FaITH 

IN  NEW  FRANCE. 


FATHER    CHRISTIAN    LE    CLERCQ, 

RECOLLECT     MISSIONARY.  (^    ^J 

NOW    FIRST     TRANSLATED,      WITH    NOTES, 

BY 

JOHN    GILMARY    SHEA. 


Vol.     I. 


New  York : 

JOHN    G.    SHEA. 
1881. 


SbSTok  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS, 


Copyright, 
JOHN  G.   SHEA, 

1882. 


.^A^ 


\ 


PREFACE. 


This  is  the  first  English  translation  of  a  work  published 
in  France  in  169 1,  and  now  become  exceedingly  scarce,  but 
yet  of  high  value  to  American  scholars,  since,  with  Henne- 
pin's "  Description  of  Louisiana,"  it  gives  the  earliest  priiUed 
account  of  the  explorations  of  Robert  Cavelier,  written  by 
Recollect  missionaries  who  were  his  companions  for  a  series 
of  years,  and  wrote  from  actual  observation. 

It  contains  also  a  sketch  of  Canadian  history,  especially 
in  connection  with  the  missionary  labors  of  the  Recollect  or 
Franciscan  Fathers,  who  were  the  first  clergy  of  the  colony 
founded  by  Champlain,  who  visited  what  is  now  Ontario  and 
New  York,  and  in  later  days  were  generally  the  chaplains  at 
the  forts  by  which  France  endeavored  to  hold  our  western 
country. 

In  translating,  the  original  has  been  closely  followed,  and 
proper  names  are  given  as  Le  Clercq  prints  them,  the  correct 
form  being  added  in  the  notes.  References  are  made  to 
other  works  and  documents,  especially  to  those  collected  by 
Mr.  Margry. 

In  the  ]Jortion  where  the  Jesuit  Relations  of  their  missions 
in  Canada  are  so  sharply  criticised,  the  allusions  have  in  most 
cases  been  traced. 

In  the  introduction  will  be  found  what  is  known  of  the 
missionary  labors  of  tlie  author,  and  a  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tions that  have  been  raised  in  regard  to  the  work. 

Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  July  22,  1S81. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Portrait  of  Jacques  Cartier,    ....  to  face  title. 

Le  Clercq's  Micmac  Hierocjlyphics,  .  .     to  face  page         i6 

Title  of  Prayer-book  in  Hieroglyphics,  .  .  .     page         19 

Facsimile  of  original  title-page  of  Le  Clercq's  work, to  face  page         37 
Portrait  of  Samuel  de  Champlain,    .  .  .  "  65 

Fort  of  the  Entouhonorons  attacked  by  Champlain,  "  104 


A  SKETCH 

OF 

FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ, 

Recollect   Missionary,    and  of  the     Works    that   bear   his    Naine. 


AS  Brother  Sagard  was  the  annalist  of  the  earlier  Canada 
missions  of  that  branch  of  the  Franciscan  Order  known 
as  Recollects,  so  we  look  to  Father  Christian  le  Clercq  for 
details  of  the  later  labors  of  these  religious  in  the  same  field. 
His  chief  work,  "  The  Establishment  of  the  Faith  in  New 
France,"  gives,  from  then  extant  documents,  a  clearer  sketch 
of  the  first  Recollect  mission  efforts  than  can  be  gleaned  from 
the  diffuse  writings  of  Brother  Sagard  ;  and  for  the  commence- 
ment of  the  second  mission  Le  Clercq  is  our  only  guide,  ex- 
cept in  the  personal  narrative  afforded  by  Father  Hennepin. 
After  Le  Clercq's  time  nothing  was  published  by  any  member 
of  that  body  except  the  Letters  of  Father  Emmanuel  Crespel. 
Le  Clercq,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  labors  of  his  Cana- 
dian associates,  devotes  a  large  part  of  his  work  to  the  explo- 
rations of  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  who,  from  the 
time  he  assumed  command  of  Fort  Frontenac,  on  Lake  Onta- 
rio, to  his  ill-starred  death  amid  the  tall  grass  of  a  Texas  prai- 
rie, was  almost  constantly  accompanied  by  Recollect  friars. 


6  A  SKETCH  OF 

Though  not  himself  among  the  number  of  those  brought 
directly  in  contact  with  La  Salle,  Le  Clercq  wrote  from  the 
narratives  of  those  who  formed  part  of  his  expeditions,  and 
were  in  full  sympathy  with  the  explorer. 

Le  Clercq  was  born  about  the  \ear  1641  at  Bapaume,  a 
fortified  town  of  three  thousand  inhabitants,  now  embraced  in 
the  department  of  Pas-de -Calais,  France.  When  the  Recol- 
lects, or  Reformed  Franciscans,  introduced  into  the  kingdom 
in  1592,  had  so  increased  that  the  province  of  St.  Denis  re- 
quired division,  and  a  new  province  was  formed  in  Aitois 
under  the  patronage  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  young  Le 
Clercq  resolved  to  renounce  tlie  world  and  don  the  gray  habit 
nnd  cord  of  St.  Francis.  He  was  the  first  to  enter  the  novi 
tiate  in  tlie  new  province  after  its  erection,*  and  then  appa- 
rently assumed  the  religious  name  of  Christian,  by  which  alone 
he  is  known  to  us.  Persevering  in  his  vocation,  he  took  his 
final  vows,  being  thus  also  the  first  professed  of  the  province. 

Louis  XIV.  had,  by  a  rapid  and  unexpected  campaign, 
wrested  Artois  from  Spain,  and  the  Recollect  Fathers  of  the 
conquered  province  were,  with  those  of  St.  Denis,  employed 
on  the  American  mission. 

After  the  recovery  of  Canada  from  the  English  in  1632 
Cardinal  Richelieu  offered  the  spiritual  management  of  that 
New  Fiance  to  his  favorite  order,  the  Capuchins.  They  de- 
clined, apparently  from  lack  of  members;  and  the  great  car- 
dinal, who,  as  Grand  Master  and  Chief  of  the  Navigation  of 
France,  directly  controlled  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  confided 
the  province  to  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.f 

*  "  Etablissement,"  ii.  p.  115. 

f  Cardinal  Richelieu's  order,  Martin's  "  Bressani,"  p.  295. 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  7 

The  Recollects  felt  keenly  tlieir  exclusion  from  a  mission 
which  they  had  founded,  and  the  works  of  Sagard  were  is- 
sued in  1632  and  1636,  apparently  to  convince  the  public 
mind  that  their  labors  had  not  been  sterile.  They  had  cer- 
tainly shown  zeal,  devotedness,  and  hardiliood.  They  had 
begun  a  mission  among  the  Montagnais,  penetrated  to  the  land 
of  the  Hurons,  and  one,  striking  southward,  crossed  the  Nia- 
gara to  announce  the  Gospel  witliin  the  territory  now  claimed 
by  New  York.  One  of  their  number  perished  by  Indian 
treachery  at  a  rapid  whose  name  to  this  day  clironicles  his 
death.*  At  the  same  time  other  Recollects  were  threading 
the  rivers  and  forests  of  New  Brunswick,  Maine,  and  Nova 
Scotia,  one  of  them  perisliing  in  his  labors. 

Some  Recollect  documents  and  Le  Clercq  speak  bitterly 
of  their  exclusion,  and  ascribe  it  to  the  Jesuits  and  their) in- 
fluence over  the  Company  of  One  Hundred  and  its  president, 
Lauson ;  but  the  whole  matter  depended  on  the  will  of  Car- 
dinal Richelieu,  who  showed  himself  no  favorer  of  the  Recol- 
lects in  other  fields.  They  could  not  well  attack  liim,  and 
seem  to  have  been  unable  to  exert  any  influence  that  might 
induce  him  to  favor  their  prior  claim  to  be  allowed  to  return 
to  Canada.  As  the  first  and  highest  member  of  the  Com- 
pany, and  as  Prime  Minister,  he  was  supreme. 

Even  when  Richelieu  had  passed  away  his  policy  was 
maintained,  and  the  Jesuits  may  have  sought  to  avoid  any 
change.  At  last,  however,  the  strong  religious  feeling  pre- 
vailing in  Canada  declined  with  the  coming  of  a  regiment 
fresh  from  its  varied  campaigns,  with  officers  and  retainers 
not  disposed  to  submit  to  the  strict  and  almost  Puritanical 
system  prevalent  in  the  country. 

*  The  Sault  au  Recollet. 


8  A  SKETCH  OF 

Mgr.  Laval,  who  had  been  sent  out  as  Bishop  of  Petr^ea  and 
vicar-apostolic,  subsequently  created  Bishop  of  Quebec,  gave 
additional  force  to  the  views  of  the  early  missionaries,  and 
the  priests  formed  by  him,  as  well  as  those  at  Montreal,  were 
equally  rigid  in  their  views. 

A  struggle  between  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities 
was  at  hand.  It  began  in  regard  to  the  sale  of  liquor  to  the 
Indians,  which  the  clergy  denounced  and  the  civil  authorities 
favored.  In  France  a  strong  party  was  forming  against  the 
Jesuits,  and  they  were  denounced  as  too  lax  in  their  ideas. 
Strangely  enough,  their  opponents,  on  reaching  Canada,  assail- 
ed them  as  being  too  severe. 

Governor  Frontenac,  La  Salle,  and  the  Recollects  de- 
nounce the  Jesuits,  accusing  them  of  exaggerating  the  good 
done  in  their  missions,  accusing  them  of  trading  and  interfer- 
ing in  all  the  civil  government  of  the  colony.  It  is  creditable 
to  the  Jesuits,  and  in  itself  a  striking  fact,  that  in  all  tlieir 
writings  under  this  whirlwind  of  vehement  accusation  there 
is  no  retaliatory  spirit  to  be  found,  no  attack,  no  attempt  to 
make  little  of  the  good  done  by  others.  They  seemed  to 
have  stood  calm  and  unmoved  in  conscious  innocence,  this 
little  band  of  venerable  ])riests,  most  of  them  worn  out  by 
long  years  of  mission' labor. 

To  thwart  them  and  the  bishop,  the  government  at  last 
permitted  the  Recollects  to  return  to  Canada,  and  the  friars 
of  St.  Francis  promptly  responded  to  the  call.  Already  pre- 
possessed against  the  Jesuits,  they  at  once  arrayed  themselves 
on  the  side  of  the  governor  against  the  bishop  and  all  the 
clergy  in  the  country. 

Such  was  the  position  of  affairs  when  Father  Le  Clercq  ar- 
rived in  1673.     He  came  from  Arras,  where   he  had  just   in- 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  9 

troduced  into  the  novitiate  of  the  Recollect  Fathers  a  young 
candidate  who,  as  Fatiier  Emmanuel  Jumeau,  was  subse- 
quently to  share  his  labors  in  America.*  There  was  little 
scope  for  the  exercise  of  the  ministry  by  the  new  auxiliaries; 
Bisho[)  Laval,  anxious  to  give  secular  priests  to  the  parishes 
and  missions,  was  unwilling  to  confide  any  to  a  body  avow- 
edly opposed  to  his  policy. 

Tlie  church  at  He  Percee,  near  a  remarkable  rock  on  the 
coast  of  Gaspe,  was,  however,  at  last  confided  to  the  Recol- 
lects, as  Le  Clercq  himself  puts  it,  by  the  Count  de  Fron- 
tenac,  with  the  consent  of  Monseigneur  de  Laval,  Bishop  of 
Petrtea.  Father  Le  Clercq  was  despatched  to  tliis  field  of 
labor  by  the  Very  Rev.  Potentien  Ozon,  Provincial  of  the  Re- 
collects of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  in  Artois,  who  had  been 
sent  out  to  Canada  as  commissary  of  his  order  there. f 

Two  Recollects,  Fathers  Hilarion  Guesnin  and  Exuperius 
de  Thune,  had  preceded  Le  Clercq  at  this  mission,  to  wliich 
tliey  were  invited  by  Richard  Denys,  Sieur  de  Fronsac,  son 
of  tlie  proprietary  and  historian. 

He  embarked  at  Quebec  on  the  Lion  (fOr,  Cai)tain  Cou- 
turier, and  encountered  such  stormy  weather,  especially  off 
Anticosti,  that  the  captain  was  afraid  to  attempt  to  reacli  the 
roadstead  at  He  Bonaventure,  and  proposed  to  sail  direct  to 
France,  carrying  our  Recollect  as  an  unwilling  passenger,  and 
leaving  at  Gaspe  men  whom  he  had  put  ashore  there  to  carry 
on  the  fislieries.  Calmer  weatlier,  however,  permitted  him  to 
make  tliat  ]iort  on  the  27th  of  October,  and  when  the  Golden 
Lion    cast    anchor    Le    Clercq    landed    at    Denys'   settlement 

*  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  p.  188. 
f  Ibid.,  p.  22. 


lO  A  SKETCH  OF 

about  four  o'clock  in  llie  afternoon,  and  found  that  gentle- 
man's residence  attractively  seated  on  the  shore  of  a  basin 
called  The  Little  River,  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  tongue 
of  land.  Only  three  or  four  persons  resided  at  this  point. 
Thus  Le  Clercq  began  his  mission  on  the  Bay  of  Gaspe,  where 
Cartier  had  planted  the  cross  with  the  arms  of  France  on  the 
24th  of  July,  1534. 

Rugged  mountains,  with  Mount  St.  Anne  towering  over 
them,  line  the  coast,  and  two  spurs  run  down  to  the  sea,  form- 
ing lie  Bonnventure  and  He  de  Percee,  a  remarkable  natural 
monument,  standing  out  on  its  landscape  of  sea  and  sky  like 
some  arched  bridge  built  by  Titans  to  unite  Bonaventure  to 
Mount  Joli. 

There  was  but  a  small  settled  population  on  the  coast, 
who  were  lost  among  those  who  in  the  season  gathered  there 
to  fish  or  trade,  and  for  whom  chiefly  a  church  dedicated 
to  St.  Peter  was  erected  at  Percee,  and  one,  dedicated  to  St. 
Clare,  on  He  Bonaventure. 

The  Recollect  applied  liimself  to  do  what  good  he  could 
in  the  hearts  ot  the  few  around  him,  and  took  up  some  manu- 
script treatises  on  Algonquin  whici)  had  been  given  hiin,  in 
order  to  fit  himself  to  converse  with  the  Micmacs,  then  away 
on  llieir  winter  hunt  some  fifty  or  sixty  miles  distant.  His 
labor  was  to  a  certain  extent  wasted,  as  his  Gaspesians  spoke 
Micmac — an  Algonquin  dialect,  indeed,  but  so  remotely  con- 
nected with  that  spoken  on  the  St.  Lawrence  that  he  had  to 
send  in  the  si)ring  for  Micmac  prayers  from  Quebec,  and  wait 
till  they  came  by  the  first  fisliing-smack.  Then  he  learned 
the  prayers  in  order  to  begin  to  teacii  them,  and  picked  up 
what  ideas  he  could  of  their  language.* 

*  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  25-29. 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  I  I 

His  floating  summer  flock  of  five  hundred  Frenchmen 
then  demanded  his  services;  and  wliile  going  to  He  Percee, 
bearing  in  his  canoe  all  the  finest  church  ornaments  and 
vestments,  to  give  greater  splendor  to  the  dedication  of 
the  edifice,  he  was  surprised  by  a  storm  and  nearly  per- 
ished, but  was  finally  rescued  by  some  Micmacs,  who 
boldly  put  out  from  the  shore  on  beholding  their  mission- 
ary's danger.* 

The  next  winter  he  passed  in  the  wigwams  of  his  Gaspe- 
sians,  perfecting  himself  in  their  language,  compiling  a  dic- 
tionary, and  studying  also  a  system  of  liieroglyphics  whicli  he 
found  in  use  among  them. 

His  district  embraced  the  missions  of  Gaspesie,  He  Per- 
cee, Ristigouclie,  Nipsiguit,  and  Miramichi.  Reaching  these 
by  land  or  water  was  often  attended  witli  difficulty,  and  he 
records  at  length  the  sufferings  he  underwent  while  making 
liis  way  from  Nipsiguit  to  Fronsac  fort  on  the  St.  Croix.f 

Here  he  found  a  Micmac  tribe,  to  whom  he  gives  tlie  name 
of  Porte-Croix,  because  he  found  among  them  a  remarkable 
reverence  for  the  cross,  which  they  regarded  as  a  talisman  in 
all  dangers  and  perils.  This  veneration  he  believed  to  have 
existed  among  them  before  the  arrival  of  the  French  in  their 
country,  as  a  veneral^le  Indian  named  Quiondo,  whose  age 
was  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twenty,  declared  that  he 
had  seen  the  first  ship  that  touclied  at  their  country,  and  tliat 
the  Indians  of  Miramichi  did  not  receive  the  cross  and  its 
use  from  strangers  but  from  their  ancestors.  Other  Micmac 
bands  which    had   been   converted    by   missionaries    did    not 

*  "  Relation  tie  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  17-19. 
\  lb.,  pp.  208-245. 


12  A  SKETCH  OF 

adopt  this  custom,  as  they  would  have  done  had  the  mission- 
aries introduced  it.* 

His  labors  for  the  first  four  years  produced  little  result, 
and  he  was  heartily  discouraged;  but  Father  Valentine  le 
Roux,  by  a  letter  full  of  zeal  and  encouragement  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1679,  induced  him  to  continue  his  labors  in  the  sterile 
field.f 

After  a  time  Father  Emmanuel  Junieau  was  sent  to  assist 
him,  and  Le  Clercq,  leaving  his  associate  at  He  Perc6e,  pro- 
ceeded to  Mirmenagane.J 

In  1678  Father  Le  Clercq  was  summoned  to  Quebec,  his 
superior  having  selected  him  and  Father  de  Thune  to  pro- 
ceed to  France,  in  order  to  obtain  from  the  Sulpitians, 
through  the  Very  Rev.  Germain  AUart,  permission  to  es- 
tablish  a  house  of  their   order  at   Montreal.  §     Some  of  the 

*  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  172-199,  266-277.  Bishop  de  St. 
Valier,  "  Estat  Present"  (Quebec  edition,  p.  14),  gives  the  same  ac- 
count on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Denys  de  Fronsac.  Lafttau,  "  Moeurs 
des  Sauvages,"  i.  pp.  429-440,  examines  the  whole  story,  and,  from  the 
silence  of  all  previous  missionaries  and  others  on  that  coast,  doubts  the 
custom,  which  was  unknown  in  his  day.  But  Father  Perrault,  Rel. 
1635,  notes  that,  after  teaching  the  Indians  to  make  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  they  painted  it  all  over  their  bodies. 

f  lb.  pp.  279-304. 

|;  lb.  p.  193.  Father  Jumeau  drew  up  in  16S5  a  very  curious  map 
entitled  "  Carte  de  la  Grande  Baye  de  St.  Laurens  en  la  Nouvelle 
France,  mise  dans  un  jour  011  elle  n'auroit  jusqu'icy  parije,  I'exacti- 
tude,  la  curiosite  et  la  justesse  y  aiant  este  observees  autant  qu'il  a 
este  possible."  Catalogue  of  the  Library  of  Parliament  (Canada),  p, 
1616. 

§  "  Relation   de  la  Gaspesie,"  p.   530.     Le  Clercq  says  he  had  then 
been  six  years  on  the  Gaspe  mission,  but  he  apparent!}'  counts  from 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  T3 

inhabitants  there  are  said  to  have  invited  the  Recollects  to 
that  place,  and  they  themselves  had  great  projects  for  mis- 
sions wliere  Indians  were  to  be  taught  to  cultivate  the  land 
and  acquire  the  language  and  manners  of  Frenchmen. 

Father  le  Clercq  and  his  companion  sailed  on  the  Sie. 
Anne  with  letters  to  the  Very  Rev.  Germain  Allart,  a  Recol- 
lect Father,  who  was  soon  after  raised  to  a  bishopric,  as  well 
as  instructions  for  the  negotiation,  in  order  to  obtain  of  the 
king  and  the  Sulpitians,  then  proprietors  of  the  island  of 
Montreal,  permission  to  erect  a  cluirch  and  convent  there. 

Our  good  Recollect  seems  to  have  been  pursued  by  bad 
weather.  He  encountered  so  many  storms  that  it  took  him 
seven  weeks  to  reach  He  Percee,  and  the  vessel  was  nearly 
wrecked  on  the  Seven  Islands. 

His  adopted  father  welcomed  the  missionary,  but,  to  his 
grief,  heard  that  he  was  on  his  way  to  France.  Runners  soon 
spread  the  news,  and  the  Gaspesians  gathered  to  take  farewell 
of  their  spiritual  father,  approach  the  sacraments,  and  obtain 
some  of  his  Oiikateguenncs  Kignaniatinoer,  or  Hieroglyphic 
Prayers.  After  distributing  these  and  what  tobacco  and  trin- 
kets he  possessed  Father  le  Clercq  embarked  once  more,  and 
in  thirty  days  reached  Honfleur,  whence  he  repaired  to  Paris. 

The  future  Bishop  of  Vence  readily  obtained  the  royal 
sanction  for  the  Montreal  establishment,  and  the  Very  Rev. 
Potentien  Ozon,  then  provincial,  easily  persuaded  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Tronson,  Superior  of  tlie  Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice,  to  give 
letters  to  Dollier  de  Casson,  the  local  superior  at  Montreal, 
urging  him  to  favor  the  project  of  the  Franciscans. 

the  .day  he  received  orders  in  France,  as  he  reached  Gaspe  really  in 
1675- 


14  A  SKETCH  OF 

The  object  of  their  mission  having  been  thus  ])romi)tly 
and  hajjpily  attained,  Father  le  Clercq  received  permission  to 
visit  Artois,  where  relatives,  friends,  religious  and  seculars, 
endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  remain  in  France.  He  seems 
to  have  been  influenced  so  far  as  to  request  his  superiors  to 
assign  him  to  a  field  of  labor  at  home,  but  a  letter  of  Father 
Ozon  dispelled  his  hopes  :  lie  was  ordered  to  Canada,  espe- 
cially as  the  superior  at  Quebec  claimed  him. 

He  accordingly  left  Bapaume  and  went  to  Arras,  in  order 
to  make  his  annual  retreat.  Then,  in  company  with  Father 
Francis  Wasson,  who  from  an  opponent  had  become  a  volun- 
teer for  the  mission,  he  set  out  for  Paris.  There  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Mace,  of  St.  Sulpice,  requested  them  to  take  charge  of  two 
Hospital  nuns  of  Beaufort,  in  Vallee,  who  were  going  out  to 
tile  convent  of  tlieir  order  in  Montreal.  They  embarked  at 
Rochelle  about  Whitsuntide,  and  after  a  voyage  of  thirty 
days,  during  which  they  were  i)ursued  by  a  Barbary  corsair, 
they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  soon  an- 
chored before  Quebec* 

Le  Clercq  immediately  proceeded  to  Montreal  with  his 
superior,  Father  le  Roux,  acting  for  the  time  as  chaplain  to 
the  Count  de  FronteJiac.  Tlie  great  desire  of  the  Recollects 
was  accomi)lished  :  Dollier  de  Casson  granted  them  four  acres 
of  land  near  the  river-side,  not  far  from  the  chapel  of  Notre 
Dame  de  Bon  Secours. 

Our  historian  had  no  cause  for  further  delay  ;   he  returned 

*  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesic,"  pp.  52S-572.  Le  Clercq  does  not  give 
the  year,  but,  according  to  Faillon,  "  Vie  de  Mile.  Mance  "  (ii.  p.  56), 
the  two  nuns,  Sisters  Gallard  and  Monmusseau,  einbarked  at  Roclielle 
in  the  spring  of  1679,  and  Le  Clercq  must  have  gone  to  France  in 
1678.  ^ 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  1 5 

to  Quebec  and  proceeded  to  Gaspe  to  resume  his  missionary 
duties.  Here  his  work,  the  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  leaves 
us,  referring  the  reader  to  the  work  now  translated  for  his  sub- 
sequent labors  in  that  field.  However,  the  "  Etablissement  de 
la  Foi,"  as  published,  gives  no  details,  showing  that  part  of 
Le  Clercq's  matter  was  suppressed. 

He  was  back  again  at  Quebec  in  the  summer  of  1679,* 
having  gone  up  to  report  the  condition  of  his  missions  to  the 
commissary,  Father  le  Roux,  but  found  liim  absent  on  a  visit 
to  Fort  Frontenac.  Le  Clercq  remained  two  months  at  the 
Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Angels.  After  a  retreat  he  returned 
to  Gaspe.  f 

During  his  stay  at  Quebec  he  proved  to  his  fellow-friars 
the  utility  of  his  hieroglyphics  by  the  facility  with  which  a 
boy  seven  years  old  learned  to  read  them. 

As  these  hieroglypiiics  are  still  in  use  among  the  Micmacs, 
who  write  and  read  them,  and  a  font  of  type  for  them  has  ac- 
tually been  cast  at  Vienna,  in  which  a  prayer-book  has  been 
printed  in  our  day,  through  the  exertions  of  Rev.  Cliailes 
Kauder,  a  Redemptorist  missionary  who  spent  some  years  at 
Tracadie,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  Le  Clercq's  own 
words  : 

"The  easy  method  which  I  found  for  teaching  our  Gas- 
pesians  their  prayers  with  certain  characters  which  I  have 
formed,  effectually  convinces  me  that  the  majority  would  soon 
become  instructed;  for,  indeed,  I  should  find  no  more  difficulty 
in  teaching  them  to  read  than  to  pray  to  God  by  my  papers,  in 

*  Le  Clercq  says  that  le  Roux  "arrived  too  late  to  meet  Ribourde, 
Membre,  and  Hennepin,  who  had  set  out  before  he  got  there.  They 
started  in  August,  1679. 

f  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  133-140. 


1 6  A  SKETCH  OF 

which  each  arbitrary  letter  signifies  a  particukir  word,  and 
some  even  two  together.  They  so  readily  grasp  this  kind  of 
reading  that  they  learn  in  a  single  day  what  they  would 
never  have  been  able  to  retain  in  a  whole  week  without  the 
aid  of  these  cards,  which  they  call  Kignavwtinoer,  or  Kate- 
guemie.  They  preserve  these  instructive  papers  so  carefully 
and  prize  them  so  highly  that  they  keep  them  very  neatly  in 
little  bark  cases  adorned  with  wampum,  beads,  and  porcupine 
quills.  They  hold  them  in  their  hands  as  we  do  our  prayer- 
books  during  holy  Mass,  after  which  they  replace  them  in 
their  cases.  The  main  utility  and  advantage  resulting  from 
this  new  method  is  that  the  Indians  teach  one  another,  wher- 
ever they  moy  happen  to  be.  Tlius  the  children  teach  the 
father,  the  wife  her  husband,  and  children  the  aged,  their 
great  age  giving  them  no  repugnance  to  learn  from  their  little 
nephews,  and  even  from  girls,  the  principles  of  Christianity."  * 

"  It  is,  therefore,  easy  to  judge  hereby  of  the  use  of  these 
characters  to  a  missionary  who  wishes  to  produce  a  great  deal 
of  fruit  in  a  short  time  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  his 
district  ;  for,  poor  as  our  Indians'  memory  may  be,  they  can 
not  only  easily  learn  their  prayers  by  these  characters,  but 
when  they  forget  them  it  is  easy  to  bring  them  to  mind  again 
by  counting  them  one  after  another,  in  the  manner  shown 
them.  In  fine,  I  employed  them  so  usefully  for  the  space 
of  ten  years,  etc."  f 

"Our  Lord  inspired  me  with  this  method  the  second  year 

*  "Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  129-131.  He  has  Kignamatinoen 
on  p.  148  and  Kignatanionoer  on  p.  151. 

\  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  139-140.  He  went  to  Gaspe  in 
1675,  invented  these  in  1677,  so  that  ten  years'  use  would  bring  him  to 
1687. 


THE  LORD'S  PRATER  IN  MICMAC  HIEROGLYPHICS- 


^ 


nnsbinen       "Wajok 
Our  Father  in  heaven 


ebin 
seated 


tchiptook  delwigia 

may  thy  name 


JUL 


cfc      I       li/^ 


megaidedemek      Wnjok         n'tclidancn  tchiptook       ignemwiek 
te  respected      ia  heaven         tons  maj  grant 


thee 


ncniulek 
to  see 

1     i    2 


3-1    ^ 


a 


coj^ 


uledcchinen.      Natel         wajok 
in  staying.      There      In  heaven 


dcU  cbkeJooik 

as         thou  art  obeyed 


tchiptook  deli 
may         so 


be 


chkedulek  makimigiiek  eimok 

obeved  on  earth  ^vhere  we  are 


e^ 


c:^.^        2    ii 


A. 


f=^ 


Tlelamukubeniguai  echeniiegnel  npch       neguech      kichkoaft. 

As  thou  hast  "iven  it  to  us  in  the  same  manner    also  now  to-day 

tlelamooktcch  pcnigiiiinonwin      niluacn;        dell  ablkchiktakachik 

give  it  our  nourishment       to  us;  wo  forgive  thosa 

abikchiktwin     '    clweultlck 
forgive  our  faults 

mu  k"tygalinen       kcginnkamkil 

not  to  fall  keep  far  from  us 


■wegaiwinatnetnik      clp    kcl    nixkam 
who  have  oflended  us   so    thou    0  God 


mclkeninrech 
hold  ns  stronjr 


winnchudil 
by  tho  hand 


£^r^       311     hi??        'IL 


winncliigucl 

euffericgs 


twaktwin. 
evils. 


N'delietchi 
Ameni 


.8DTn^Tjn"K:TT^  -^/vrjiv  -■:  '■'■vri?''  j^mhot  'q-H" 


i       '^^j       ^      ^ 


io 

^iqkdbi 

vmsffst 

i<?iw     £r 


^S"  <^'  s 


t>=».p-^ 


■■"•  i  ; 

J  ■  ■ 

/ 
eu 

iC.': ..   , 

FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  I  7 

of  my  mission,  when,  being  greatly  embarrassed  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  I  should  teach  the  Indians  to  pray,  I  noticed 
some  children  making  marks  on  birch  bark  with  coal,  and 
they  pointed  to  them  with  their  finger  at  every  word  of  the 
prayer  which  they  pronounced.  This  made  me  think  that,  by 
giving  them  some  form  which  would  aid  their  memory  by 
fixed  characters,  I  should  advance  much  more  rapidly  than 
by  teaching  on  the  plan  of  making  them  repeat  over  and 
over  what  I  said.  I  was  charmed  to  know  that  I  was  not  de- 
ceived, and  that  these  characters  whicli  I  had  traced  on  paper 
produced  all  the  effect  I  desired,  so  that  in  a  few  days  they 
learned  all  their  prayers  without  difficulty.  I  cannot  describe 
to  you  the  ardor  with  which  these  poor  Indians  competed  with 
eacli  other  in  praiseworthy  emulation  which  should  be  the 
most  learned  and  the  ablest.  It  costs,  indeed,  much  time  and 
pains  to  make  all  that  they  require,  and  especially  since  I  en- 
larged them  so  as  to  include  all  the  prayers  of  the  Church, 
with  the  sacred  mysteries  of  the  Trinity,  Incarnation,  Bap- 
tism, Penance,  and  the  Eucharist.  But,  after  all,  what  ought 
we  not  to  do  for  God's  sake  ?  " 

"  As  I  sought  in  this  little  formulary  only  the  good  of  my 
Indians  and  the  easiest  and  readiest  method  of  instructing 
them,  I  always  used  them  with  greater  pleasure  since  several 
persons  of  merit  and  virtue  have  been  kind  enough  orally 
and  in  letters  to  exhort  me  to  continue,  even  forcing  me  to 
send  specimens  to  them  in  France,  in  order  to  show  the  curious 
a  new  method  of  learning  to  read,  and  how  God  avails  him- 
self of  the  least  things  to  manifest  the  glory  of  his  holy  name 
to  these  tribes  of  Gaspesie.  The  approbation  of  Monsei- 
gneur  de  Saint  Valier,  now  Bishop  of  Quebec,  has  more  than 
sufficiently  authorized  their  use,  nnd  that    worthy  prelate  has 


1 8  ,  A  SKETCH  OF 

esteemed  them  so, highly  tliat,  after  witnessing  in  person  their 
advantage  and  utility  in  a  very  painful  voyage  which  he  made 
to  Acadia,  he  asked  some  specimens  from  the  Rev.  Father 
Moreau,  to  whom  I  had  imparted  them  some  years  before."  * 
It  is  no  little  honor  to  the  Recollect  missionary  to  have 
established  among  the  Indians  a  system  of  characters  which 
has  been  maintained  for  nearly  two  centuries.  None  of  the 
Jesuit  missionaries  lay  any  claim  to  any  such  means  of  in- 
struction, so  that  the  title  of  Father  le  Clercq  seems  indis- 
putable. 

A  government  officer  on  that  coast  thus  speaks  of  them  in 
a  recent  report : 

"The  earlier  missionaries,"  says  R.  Macdonald,  Indian 
agent,  "  had  invented  a  system  of  hieroglyphics,  which  they 
subsequently  gathered  into  a  volume  and  handed  to  the  first 
converts.  By  tlie  good  offices  of  a  religious  foreign  society 
a  reprint  was  made  a  few  years  ago,  and  many  copies  of  this 
later  edition  are  now  in  circulation.  The  publication  is  in 
two  small  separate  volumes,  which  contain  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
the  Creed,  the  Hail  Mary,  a  few  other  simple  supplications, 
the  Ten  Commandments,  the  principal  Roman  Catholic  Ec- 
clesiastical Precepts,  the  entire  service  of  the  Mass,  the  Office 
for  the  Dead,  several  selections  from  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  a 
summary  of  Christian  Doctrine  in  catechetical  form;  tliis,  I 
need  not  say,  is  the  poor  Micmac's  simple  record  through  two 
liundred  and  seventy  consecutive  years.  Each  Sunday  even- 
ing the  head  of  the  family,  with  profound  reverence,  takes  the 
book  into   his  hand,  deciphers  it  from  beginning  to  end,  and 

*  "  Relation  de  la    Gaspesie,"  pp.    141-145.     I  treated  this  matter 
ii  the  Historical  Magazine  for  October,  1861  (v.  p.  289). 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ. 


19 


then  with  great  earnestness  impresses  what  he  considers  its 
most  important  truths  on  the  minds  of  his  by  no  means  inat- 
tentive hearers."  * 

The  title  of  tlie   htrger  of  the   works  here  alluded  to,  and 
which  embraces  tlie  two  others,  is  as  follows  : 


BUCH 

X 


das 


enlhaltend  den  KalecliisraiB,     Belracntung, 

Lol^?  A  ^  -^-i^^ 

Die  kaiserliclie        vie    aacli     kbniglichc        Buchdruckerei 
bat  es  gedruckl 

Lc.1^^  rRTlv  ^0^ 

in  der  kaiserlichon  Sl.idl  Wien  in  Ocli'jreidi 


^^^ 


R.  ^^ 


i2mo:    Katechismus   (8)146;    Betrachtungsbuch,    m   pp.; 
(lesangbuch,  210  i)p. 

*  "  Annual  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian   Affairs,"   18S0, 
pp.  45-6.     The  writer,  I  thinl<,  overestimates  their  age. 


20  A  SKETCH  OF 

The  second  work  has  the  same  title  as  the  preceding,  omit- 
ting the  word  Gesang  and  the  character  above  it,  and  em- 
braces (8)  146  ;   III  pp. 

The  third  omits  Katechismus  and  Betrachtungsbuch  with 
their  characters,  and  reads  simply  den  Gesang,  and  contains 
pp.  (8)  210. 

They  were  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Christian  Kauder,  and 
were  printed  by  the  Leopold  Society  at  Vienna.  They  are 
dedicated  to  his  Eminence  Joseph  Othmar,  Cardinal  von 
Rauscher,  Archbishop  of  Vienna. 

In  his  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie  "  Father  le  Clercq  refers 
to  the  "  Etablissement  de  la  Foi  "  for  later  details  as  to  his 
missionary  labors.  The  tvvo  works  appeared  almost  simul- 
taneously, and  if  the  "  Etablissement  "  contained  any  such 
matter  originally  we  now  seek  it  in  vain  ;  it  was  omitted  for 
tlie  caustic  and  bitter  satire  on  the  Jesuits.  Allusions  to 
Father  le  Clercq  after  this  are  brief  and  few. 

Father  Zenobius  Membre,  who  was  a  cousin  of  Fatlier  le 
Clercq,  in  his  letter  to  his  superior,  written  "  from  the  river 
of  Mississipi,  June  3,  1682,"  announcing  La  Salle's  successful 
descent  to  the  gulf,  and  ascent  of  the  river  till  he  fell  sick, 
closes  by  saying:  "I  cannot  fulfil  my  duty,  which  would  be 
to  write  to  those  to  whom  obligation  compels  me.  I  beg 
your  reverence  to  supply  my  defect,  as  well  as  to  all  my  Fa- 
thers. Do  me  the  favor  to  give  me  news  of  Father  Chris- 
tian."* 

The  Jesuit  Father,  James  Bigot,  in  tlie  Relation  of  his  Ab- 
naqui  mission  at  Sillery  and  St.  Francis  in  1684,  mentions  the 
arrival  of  several  Gaspesians  at  his  mission,  and  adds  :  "  God 

*  Margry,  ii.  pp.  211-2. 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  2  1 

gave  most  of  these  Gaspesians  the  grace  of  dying  at  Sillery 
this  year  some  time  after  arriving  there.  I  call  this  a  great 
grace  for  them,  for  you  know  the  wretched  life  they  lead  in 
their  country,  and  the  Rev.  Father  Christian,  Recollect,  who 
spends  most  of  his  time,  as  you  know,  in  the  country  of  the 
Gaspesians,  and  who  instructs  them  with  great  zeal,  said  to 
me  some  days  ago  that  he  desired  only  one  favor  for  these 
poor  Gaspesians,  which  is  to  see  them  come  into  our  mis- 
sion, to  which  he  influenced  them  all  he  could.  Those  of 
that  nation  here  are  doing  well."* 

Mr.  de  St.  Valier,  afterwards  second  bishop  of  Quebec, 
visited  He  Percee  in  1686.  He  says  :  "  I  went  back  by  way 
of  Miramichy.  Instead  of  taking  the  route  by  Ristigouche 
and  Mattane  in  order  to  reach  Quebec,  I  took  that  of  lie 
Percee,  where  I  knew  that  my  visit  would  not  be  useless.  I 
did  not  reach  it  till  the  26th  of  August,  after  experiencing 
much  hardship;  and  during  the  stay  I  made  there  I  had  time 
to  visit  all  the  places  where  the  fishermen  carry  on  their  trade. 
S(jme  profited  by  my  visit,  and  I  have  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  them;  but  I  found  in  many  little  inclination  to  lead  a 
Christian  life,  notwithstanding  the  exertions  of  a  good  reli- 
gious of  the  order  of  Recollects,  to  whom  they  bear  testimony 
that  lie  lives  among  them  witli  great  regularity."  f 

Father  le  Clercq  himself  tells  us  that  he  returned  to  France 
in  1687,  J  and  those  who  represent  him  as  having  left  He 
Percee  only  in  1690  §  have  overlooked  this  statement;  had 
he  been   there   in   September,  1688,  when  Joutel  and  Father 

*  Bigot,  "  Relation  Abnaquise,"  1684,  pp.   3S-9. 

f  St.  Valier,  "  Estat  Present  "  (Quebec  edition),  p.  42. 

X  "  Etablissement  de  la  Foi,"  i.  p.  427. 

§  Tanguay,  "  Repertoire,"  p.  55  ;  Harrisse,  p.  158. 


2  2  A  SKETCH   OF 

Anastasius  stoi)ped  tliere,  lie  could  scarcely  have  failed  to 
allude  to  it.  In  that  year  Le  Clercq  must  have  been  in 
France,  for  he  gives  at  length  a  letter  from  Father  Emman- 
uel Jumeau,  in  which  that  religious  describes  the  destruction 
of  the  churches  at  He  Percde  and  He  Bonaventure  by  the 
English  in  August,  1690. 

At  this  time  Father  le  Clercq  had  been  appointed  guar- 
dian of  the  convent  at  Lens,  a  religious  house  destroyed  at 
the  time  of  the  French  Revolution.  He  held  this  position  on 
the  30th  of  December,  when  the  privilege  was  issued  for  his 
two  books,  and  when  the  printing  of  the  two  was  completed, 
in   1691. 

Paquot,  in  his  "Memoires,"  says  he  died  in  1695;  but  the 
"  Nouveau  Voyage  "  of  Hennepin  calls  him  in  1699  "  Definitor 
of  our  Recollects  of  Artois." 

Father  le  Clercq  has  left  us  two  works  : 

I.  Nouvelle  |  Relation  |  de  la  |  Gaspesie,  |  qui  contient  | 
les  Moeurs  &  la  Religion  des  Snu-  |  vnges  Gaspesiens  Porte- 
Croix,  I  adorateurs  du  Soleil,  &  d'autres  |  Peuples  de  I'Amer- 
ique  Septen-  |  trionale,  dite  le  Canada.  |  Dedie'e  a  Madame 
la  I  Princesse  d'Epinoy,  |  Par  le  Pere  Chrestien  le  Clercq,  | 
Missionnaire  Recollet'  de.  la  Province  de  |  Saint  Antoine  de 
Pade  en  Artois,  &  |  Gardien  du  Convent  de  Lens.  |  A  Paris, 
I  Chez  Amable  Auroy,  rue  Saint  |  Jacques,  a  I'lniage  S.  Je- 
rome, attenant  |  la  Fontaine  S.  Severin.  |  M.DC.XCL  |  Avec 
Privilege  dv  Roy.  | 

Title,  verso  blank  (2) ;  Epitre  a  Madame  la  Princesse 
d'Epinoy  (22);  Extrait  du  Privilege  du  Roi,  dated  December 
30,  1690;  Printing  completed  April  20,  1691  (2);  Text  1-572. 

It  concludes :  "  J'obmets  ici  les  circonstances  de  cette 
seconde  Mission,  que    je  reserve  pour  le  Premier  etablisse- 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCO. 


^v) 


nient  de  la  Foi  dans  la  Nouvelle  France."     He  also  refers  to 
the  same  work  on  p.  20. 

2.  Premier  Etablissement  |  de  la  Foy  |  dans  la  |  Nouvelle 
France,  |  contenant  la  Publication  ]  de  I'Evangile,  I'Histoiie 
des  Colonies  Fran-  |  poises,  &  les  fameuses  decouvertes  de- 
puis  I  le  Fleuve  de  Saint   Laurent,  la  Loiiisiane  |  &  le  Fleuve 
Colbert  jusqu'au   Golphe  |  Mexique,  achevees   sous   la   con- 
duite  de  |  feu   Monsieur  de  la  Salle.  |     Par  ordre  dv  Roy.  | 
Avec  les  victoires  |  remportees  en  Canada  par  les  amies  de 
Sa    I  Majeste'   sur    les    Anglois   &   les    Iroquois  |  en   1690    | 
Dedie  a  Monsieur   le  Comte   de   Frontenac,  |  Gouverneur  & 
Lieutenant  General  de   la  |  Nouvelle   France.  |     Par  le   Pere 
Chrestien   le    Clercq  Missionnaire  |  Recollet  de  la  Province 
de  Saint  Antoine  de   Pade  |  en   Artliois,  Gardien   des  Recol- 
lets  de  Lens.  ]  Tome  I.  |  A  Paris,  |  Chez  Amable  Auroy,  rue 
Saint   Jacques,  ]  attenant  la  Fontaine  S.   Seveiin  a  ITmoge  | 
Saint  Jerome.  |  M.DC.XCl.  |  Avec  Privilege  uu  Roy.  | 

Vol.  I.  Title,  verso  blank  (2)  ;  Epitre  "  A  Tres  Haut  et 
Puissant  Seigneur  Messire  Louis  de  Buade,  Comte  de  Fron- 
tenac," etc.  (13)  ;  Preface  (4);  Table  de  Ciiapitres  (8);  Ex- 
trait  du  Privilege  du  Roi,  dated  December  30,  1690  (2)  ; 
Printing  completed  April  20,  169 1  ;   Text  1-559- 

Vol.  II.  Title,  verso  blank  (2);  Text  (1-45S),  453-6  are 
not  given. 

These  two  works  received  the  royal  privilege  the  same 
day,  and  the  printing  was  completed  A|)ril-  20  and  July  26. 
Neither  title  alludes  to  any  map,  but  copies  of  both  occur 
containing  a  map  entitled  : 

Carte  |  Generalle  de  la  |  Nouvelle  |  France  |  ou  est  com-- 
pris  I  La  Lovisiane  |  Gaspesie  |  et  le  nouveau  Mexique  |  auec 
les    Isles     Antilles  |  Dressee    sur     les     memoires  |  les     plus 


24  A  SKETCH  OF 

nouueaux.  I     1691;    I.    Rouillard,    delineavit ;     L.    Boudaii, 
Sculp. 

Some  copies  of  the  map  are  said  to  bear  the  date  1692. 
The  last  figure  has  something  of  the  appearance  of  2,  but 
seems  to  be  really  i,  and  has  probably  been  read  differently. 

This  title  seems  to  be  the  more  common  one,  but  olliers 
— among  which  are  that  in  the  library  of  Baron  James  Roth- 
schild, Paris  ;  the  Carter-Brown  collection,  Providence  ;  that 
of  the  Abbe  H.  Verreau,  Montreal — have  the  following 
title,  which  I  print  from  a  transcript  of  Baron  Rothschild's 
copy,  made  for  me  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  H.  Harrisse,  who 
is  inclined  to  regard  this  form  as  that  under  which  the  book 
was  first  issued. 

As,  however,  the  name  of  Le  Clercq  is  given  in  the  Royal 
Privilege  in  full,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  the  initials  only 
should  have  been  used  on  the  title  ;  but  if,  when  the  work  ap- 
peared with  his  name,  complaints  were  made,  there  would  be 
a  reason  for  printing  a  new  title  to  keep  it  out  of  sight  as 
much  as  possible. 

The  second  title  is  as  follows  : 

Etablissement  |  de  la  Foy  |  dans  la  |  Nouvelle  France,  | 
Contenant  I'Histoire  |  des  Colonies  Francoises,  &  des  Decou- 
I  vertes,  qui  s'y  sont  failes  jusques  a  pre-  |  sent.  |  Avec  une 
Relation  Exacte  |  des  Expeditions  &  Voyages  entrepris  pour 
la  I  Decouverte  du  Fleuve  Mississipi  jusques  |  an  Golphe  de 
Mexique.  |  Par  Ordre  du  Roy  |  Sous  la  conduite  du  Sieur 
de  la  Salle,  &  de  |  ses  diverses  avantures  jusques  a  sa  mort. 
I  Ensemble  les  Victoires  |'remportees  en  Canada  sur  les  An- 
glois  et  Iro-  |  quois  en  1690,  par  les  Amies  de  sa  Majeste  | 
sous  le  commandement  de  Monsieur  le  Comte  |  de  Frontenac, 
Gouverneur  et  Lieutenant  Ge-  |  neral  de  la  Nouvelle  France. 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  25 

I  Par  le  P.  C  L.  C.  |  Tome  Premier.  |  A  Paris,  |  chez 
Amable  Aiiroy,  rue  Saint  Jacques,  |  attenant  la  Fontaine  Saint 
Severin,  |  a  I'image  Saint  Jerome.  |  M.DC.LXXXXI.  Avec 
Privilege  du  R03'. 

The  second  volume  alsd  gives  only  the  initials  of  Le 
Clercq. 

Besides  these  two  a  third  title  exists,  of  which  the  copy 
in  the  Lenox  Library,  New  York,  is  an  example.  This 
third   form  is  as  follows  : 

Histoire  |  des  |  Colonies  Francoises  ]  et  |  les  fameuses 
decouvertes  depuis  |  le  fleuve  de  S.  Laurent,  la  Loiii-  | 
siane  &  le  fleuve  Colbert  jus-  |  qu'au  Golphe  Mexique, 
ache-  I  vees  sous  la  conduite  de  feu  |  Monsieur  de  la 
Salle.  I  Avec  Les  Victoires  |  remportes  en  Canada  par  les 
amies  |  de  sa  Majeste  sur  les  Anglois  &  les  Iro-  |  quois 
en  1690.  I  Tome  Premier.  |  Imprime  a  Paris,  &  se  vend  | 
A  Lyon,  I  Chez  Thomas  Amaulry,  |  rue  Merciere,  au  Mer- 
cure  Galant.      M.   DC.  XCII. 

These  copies  all  seem,  except  the  title,  to  be  part  of  the 
same  edition,  corresponding  throughout,  and  all,  after  the  "  Ex- 
trait  du  Privilege,"  having  a  note  that  the  printing  for  the 
first  time  was  completed,  some  copies  say  April  20,  1691,  the 
same  date  as  the  "  Gaspesie,"  while  others,  in  which  the  error 
seems  to  have  been  seen  while  printing,  have  July  26,  1691. 

Neither  of  Le  Clercq's  works  was  ever  reprinted,  nor  did 
any  translation  appear,  altliough  it  was  noticed  in  the  Journal 
des  Scavans  for  February,  1692,  and  was  made  the  text  of 
one  of  Arnauld's  diatribes  against  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  his 
"  Morale  Pratique  des  Jesuites." 

The  members  of  that  order,  of  course,  felt  the  attack  on 
them,  which  they  could  not  but  consider  unjust.      It   is   often 


26  A   SKETCH  OF 

stated  tliat  they  procured  the  suppression  of  the  "  Etablisse- 
ment  de  la  Foi,"  wliicli  is  now  extremely  scarce.  But  if  we 
are  to  believe  Arnauld,  this  was  not  the  case.  "  The  Jesuits," 
lie  says,  "  opposed  the  book  and  did  all  they  could  to  sup- 
press it.  The  Recollects,  who  have  friends  at  court,  main- 
tained that  tlie  book  was  good  and  contained  notliing  but  the 
truth.  The  bookseller  was  for  a  time  under  arrest  for  his 
book,  but  when  it  was  shown  that  tliere  was  nothing  in  it 
to  be  gainsaid  the  book  passed  and  has  ever  since  been 
sold  freely."  * 

It  would  seem,  however,  tliat  with  all  the  stir  the  book  did 
not  sell,  as  after  a  time  it  was  put  forward  with  the  third  title- 
page  we  have  given. 

The  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie  "  is  evidently  the  work  of  le 
Clercq,  describing  as  it  does  liis  own  missionary  life,  with  re- 
marks on  the  Indians  and  frequent  citation  of  Micmac  words. 
Like  every  missionary  of  experience,  he  speaks  strongly  against 
the  practice  of  selling  liquors  to  the  Indians. f  The  book  is 
uniform  in  style  througliout,  and  is  confined  to  the  affairs  of 
the  district  in  which  he  was,  far  removed  from  the  more  active 
life  of  the  French  colony. 

As  to  the  "  Etablissement  de  la  Foi  "  questions  liave 
arisen.  Father  le  Clercq,  as  we  have  already  mentioned,  re- 
fers the  readers  of  his  Relation  of  Gaspe  to  it  for  a  continua- 
tion of  his  mission  career  after  his  return  from  France,  but 
there  is  not  in  the  "Etablissement"  the  slightest  allusion  to 
his  later  labors ;   and  even  his   first   mission  duties  are   in  one 

*  CEuvres   de  Messire   Antoine  Arnauld,  Paris,    1780,   vol.    xxxiv. 
p.  720,  cited  by  Harrisse,  p.  159. 
t  P-  432. 


FATHER  CHRIS  riAN    LE  CLERCQ.  27 

place  utterly  ignored,  another  missionary,  d'Ethuiie,  l)einu; 
represented  as  at  Percee  till  1683,  whereas  le  Clerccj  tells  us 
that  he  succeeded  that  missionary  in  1675.  Evidently  part 
of  the  book  prepared  by  him  has  been  suppressed,  and  a  part 
inserted  which  was  written  by  some  one  who  knew  little  of 
his  mission  life. 

In  the  "  Nouveau  Voyage  "  of  Father  Hennepin,  a  volume 
drawn  from  the  "  Elablissement,"  the  assertion  is  made  that 
the  real  author  of  the  latter  work  was  Father  Valentine  le 
Roux,  Commissary  or  Superior  of  the  Recollects  in  Canada. 
The  "  Nouveau  Voyage  "  is,  however,  too  doubtful  a  work  to 
be  cited  as  authority. 

Joutel,  an  author  of  higher  character,  in  his  "  Journal 
Historique,"  edited  by  Michel  (p.  117),  impeaches  the 
"  Etablissement  "  as  drawn  up  from  untrustworthy  memoirs. 
In  the  more  extended  Jcjurnal  published  by  Margry  (iii. 
p.  190)  Joutel  impeaches  statements  of  the  "  Nouvel  Etab- 
lissement," or  rather  "  Le  Premier  Etablissement  de  la  Foy 
dans  la  Nouvelle  France,"  as  to  tlie  fort  in  Texas  and  the 
live  stock,  and  remarks  in  a  note  :  "  The  author  of  that  book, 
which  treats  of  the  voyage  of  M.  de  la  Salle,  states  that  he 
drew  what  he  alleges  from  the  memoirs  furnished  to  him  by 
the  Reverend  Father  Anastasius,  with  whom  I  returned  from 
the  said  country;  but  I  have  not  observed  that  the  sai(i 
Father  worked  at  that  topic.  I  will  say  more  :  I  have  not  re- 
marked that  he  wrote  a  single  line  during  our  return.  He 
even  expected  that  I  would  give  iiim  a  copy  of  what  I  had 
written.  Nor  can  I  believe  that  he  would  have  put  forward 
a  number  of  false  statements.  Now,  there  are  some  the 
fnlsity  of  which  is  evident,  without  any  necessity  of  having 
been  in  said  country  to  perceive  it." 


28  A  SKETCH  OF 

And  on  p.  396,  in  another  note,  he  again  impeaches  it: 
"  Hence  I  am  surprised  that  the  author  of  whom  I  have  al- 
ready spoken  can  assert  that  Father  Anastasius  made  them 
exhortations  and  made  them  understand  the  mysteries  of  our 
religion,  which  could  not  be  done  without  understanding  their 
language  perfectly,  which  I  have  not  remarked  in  the  said 
Father,  who  did  not  even  take  the  pains  to  write  a  single 
word." 

There  were,  however,  reasons  why  Father  Anastasius 
should  keep  his  notes  private.  The  Recollects  certainly 
attempted  to  chronicle  the  voyage,  but  there  was  no  in- 
tention of  allowing  them  to  speak  freely.  Joutel  says 
(p.  99) :  "  On  the  9th  an  accident  befell  one  of  our  Re- 
collect Fathers,  named  Father  Zenobius,  Superior  of  the 
mission,  which  annoyed  him.  During  the  voyage  he  had 
written  all  that  happened  on  board  the  Joly — that  is  to  say, 
all  the  disputes  that  had  arisen  during  the  whole  trip  between 
Mr.  de  Beaujeu  and  Mr.  de  la  Salle — and  he  had  written  them 
just  about  as  they  had  happened.  This  Father  left  his  desk 
open,  or  some  one  opened  it ;  but,  however  that  happened, 
the  memoirs  having  been  seen  by  some  one  who  carried  them 
to  Mr.  de  Beaujeu,  he  was  extremely  angry  against  the  Fa- 
ther, so  far  as  to  say  that  if  he  came  back  on  his  vessel  he 
would  put  him  in  the  sailors'  mess." 

Joutel  shows  himself  to  have  been  a  mere  partisan  of  La 
Salle,  and  not  an  impartial  writer,  for  (p.  244)  he  tells  us : 
"Some  time  after  there  was  an  incident  in  regard  to  Father 
Maximus  [Le  Clercq],  who  had  written  on  wliat  had  occurred. 
Mr.  Chefdeville  informed  me  that  he  hnd  seen  a  Relation  by 
the  said  Father  in  which  there  were  statements  against  Mr. 
de  la  Salle.     I  told  the  said  sieur  that  I  would  have  to  seize 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  29 

that  Relation,  which  was  done,  whereat  tlie  Fathers  felt  great- 
ly embarrassed,  and  especially  the  Father  who  was  tlie  aullior 
of  that  memoir,  who  might  thus  have  reason  to  fear  the  re- 
turn of  Mr.  de  la  Salle.  Hence  Father  Zenobius  begged  me 
not  to  let  the  matter  go  any  further.  I  told  him  that  I  could 
not  conceal  it,  as  I  was  obliged  to  guard  Mr.  de  la  Salle's  in- 
terests, and,  besides,  that  it  did  not  befit  their  character  to  write 
things  of  that  nature;  that,  moreover,  I  was  not  the  only  one 
cognizant  of  it.  However,  these  Fathers  persisted  till  the 
said  Relation  was  burned  so  that  it  should  not  appear.  Fa- 
ther Zenobius  had  fallen  into  a  similar  fault  in  regard  to  Mr. 
de  Beaujeu.  As  these  gentlemen  are  extremely  fond  of  writ- 
ing, they  cannot  refrain  from  it;  however,  it  is  not  prcjper  to 
tell  certain  things,  but  there  are  some  who  amplify." 

He  states  subsequently  that  La  Salle,  on  returning  to  the 
fort,  refused  for  a  time  to  allow  the  Recollects  to  sit  at  table 
with  him. 

This  throws  some  light,  and  lets  us  see  that  while  Joutel 
himself,  from  what  he  deemed  his  duty,  wrote  only  to  support 
La  Salle,  the  Recollects  were  making  notes  constantly  and  so 
frankly  as  to  offend  both  sides-  And  we  may  well  imagine 
that,  after  the  experience  of  his  associates,  Membre  and  Le 
Clercq,  Father  Anastasius  did  not  parade  what  he  wrote  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  Joutel. 

When  Father  Anastasius  accompanied  Iberville  he  con- 
tinued to  keep  a  journal,  but  it  was  stolen  from  him  with  his 
breviary  while  stopinng  at  an  Indian  village.* 

Iberville  criticises  the  "  Establishment  of  the  Faith  "  by  Le 
Clercq,  and  his  authority.  Father  Membre,  in  regard  to  the 

*  Margry,  iv,  p.  273. 


30  A  SKETCH  OF 

distances  from  the  Arkansas  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  mak- 
ing it  two  hundred  and  sixty-three  and  a  half  leagues,  wliile 
Membre's  estimate  was  only  one  hundred  and  ninety.  Tonty's 
(Margry,  iv.  p.  iSo),  however,  agreed  in  the  main  with  Mem- 
bre's, and  Iberville  shows  strong  prejudice. 

In  another  place  he  attacks  a  Recollect  Father  whom  he 
does  not  name,  and  whom  Mr.  Margry  supposes  to  be  Hen- 
nepin, as  he  puts  that  name  at  the  head  of  the  page  (p.  i68). 
"  Returning  always,"  says  Iberville,  "  to  the  Relation  of  the 
Recollect  Father  which  he  had  made  as  to  this  river,  not 
being  able  to  believe  that  he  would  have  been  wretched 
enough  to  make  a  false  statement  to  all  France,  althougli  I 
knew  well  that  he  had  lied  in  many  places  in  his  Relation,  in 
what  he  said  of  Canada  and  Hudson  Bay,  where  he  lied 
shamelessly."  This  Recollect  was  certainly  not  Hennepin, 
but  Membre,  for  he  subsequently  says  (p.  182)  :  "  This  has 
no  resemblance  to  what  the  Relation  of  the  Recollect  Fatlier 
states  as  to  the  lower  part  of  the  branch  of  the  Mississipi  by 
which  they  descended,  but  has  really  with  the  lower  part  of 
that  where  I  am,  although  he  states  in  his  Relation  that  he 
descended  by  the  western  branch.  I  know  that  when  he  was 
at  St.  Louis  Bay  with  Mr.  de  Beaujeu,  he  said,  like  Mr.  de  la 
Salle,  that  it  might  be  the  western  branch  of  the  Mississipi 
which  fell  into  St.  Louis  Bay,  not  knowing  it,  as  he  descended 
by  the  eastern  one.  He  is  a  liar  who  has  disguised  every- 
thing, whom  I  cannot  consult  to  see  tlie  resemblance  between 
this  river  and  that  wliich  they  descended." 

Membre  was  with  La  Salle  at  St.  Louis  Bay,  and  Hennepin 
was  not,  so  that  tiie  Recollect  referred  to  is  not  Hennepin,  but 
Membre. 

Still  later    Father    Charlevoix,   in    his    "  History  of    New 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  3 1 

France,"*  treating  of  it  in  his  List  of  Authors,  says:  "This 
work,  in  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Count  de 
Frontenac  had  a  hand,  is  generally  pretty  well  written." 

The  work  itself  seems  to  show  that  several  persons  had  a 
hand  in  it.  The  "  Etablissement  de  la  Foi  "  comprises,  first, 
a  sketch  of  the  Recollect  missions  in  Canada  from  1615  to 
the  capture  of  Quebec  by  Kirk  in  1629,  and  of  the  efforts 
of  the  missionaries  to  return  to  Canada  after  its  restoration 
in  1632.  This  part  is  clearly  given,  in  a  more  connected  form 
than  Sagard's  diffuse  history,  and  has  additional  matter  drawn 
from  the  papers  of  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  the  founder  of 
the  Recollect  mission  in  Canada.  This  portion  embraces 
fifteen  chapters  (pp.  1-5 13)  of  the  first  volume.  The  rest  of 
the  volume  to  p.  559  is  a  bitter  satire  on  the  Jesuits  and  a 
ridicule  of  the  Relations  of  their  missions  in  Canada.  'I'he 
second  volume  begins  with  a  statement  of  the  religious  con- 
dition of  the  colony  and  the  various  establishments,  with  an- 
otiier  sharp  attack  on  the  Jesuit  missions,  and  includes  an 
account  of  de  Tracy's  operations  against  the  Iroquois.  This 
portion  extends  to  page  84.  Chapter  xix.  is  devoted  to  the 
return  of  the  Recollects  to  Canada  and  to  Governor  Fron- 
tenac. Chapters  xx.-xxv.  (pp.  106-377)  ^^e  devoted  to  La 
Salle's  discoveries,  drawn  mainly  from  narratives  of  Fathers 
Membre  and  Douay.  The  rest  of  the  work  (pp.  378-454) 
treats  of  Frontenac's  operations  in  1690  and  his  defeat  of 
the  English  at  Quebec,  and  is  by  another  hand  and  based  on 
de  Monseignat's  Relation  and  Frontenac's  despatches. 

Harrisse  f  well  remarks  that  the  "  Etablissement  "   "  is  as 

*  Shea's  "  Charlevoix,"  i.  p.  85. 

t  "  Notes  pour  servir  a  I'Histoire,  a  la  Bibliographie  et  h.  la  Carto- 
graphie  de  la  Nouvelle  France,"  p.  159. 


32  A  SKETCH  OF 

much  a  book  of  controversy  as  a  history,"  and  "  is  divided 
into  several  parts  clumsily  enough  patched  together,  the  sub- 
jects of  which  have  been  drawn  from  different  sources." 

It  would  seem  that  a  manuscript  of  Le  Clercq's,  intended 
to  give  simply  a  history  of  tlie  Recollect  missions  in  Canada 
generally,  and  of  his  own  in  more  detail,  was  made  to  serve 
as  a  medium  for  introducing  attacks  on  the  Jesuits,  against 
whom  the  Count  de  Frontenac  was  then  arraying  all  the  civil 
power,  and  for  flattering  that  governor  with  a  eulogy  on  his 
administration. 

As  I  have  had  occasion  to  note  at  various  places,  the  edi- 
tor of  the  "  Etablissement  "  takes  the  ground  that  the  Indians 
are  not  susceptible  of  conversion  and  never  become  sincere 
Christians  ;  while  in  his  "  Gaspesie  "  Father  le  Clercq  never 
puts  forward  such  disheartening  theories,  but  speaks  of  the 
piety  of  his  converts,  as  other  missionaries  have  done.  The 
testimony  in  our  time  of  tlie  manner  in  which  the  Micmacs 
cling  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  the  hieroglyphic 
teachings  of  Le  Clercq  sustains  tlie  author  of  the  "  Gaspesie  " 
and  refutes  the  editor  of  his  other  work. 

Tliat  editor  felt  the  bias  of  his  time.  To  understand  the 
position  of  affairs  in  Canada  we  must  examine  what  parties 
at  the  time  agitated  the  colony.  We  find  immediately  that 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  were  then  completely 
at  variance,  chiefly  from  two  causes  :  the  first  was  what  may 
be  called  the  brandy  war,  in  which  Bishop  Laval,  seeing  the 
injury  done  to  the  Indians  by  the  sale  of  liquor,  had  pro- 
nounced ecclesiastical  censures  against  those  who  carried  on 
the  nefarious  traffic;  his  clergy,  and  especially  the  Jesuits, 
sided  with  him  and  his  successor  entirely  on  this  point,  as 
being  better  able  from  daily  intercourse  to  see  the  ruin  of  the 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  33 

native  tribes  by  tlie  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  But  if  the  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  pronounced  censures,  the  civil  officers 
were  not  slow  in  taking  up  most  curious  modes  of  revenge; 
and  ridicule,  above  all,  was  brought  to  play  upon  tlieir  an- 
tagonists. So  far  luid  public  ojjinion  become  vitiated  that  in 
a  memoir  drawn  up  apparently  by  the  intendant  Duchesneau 
with  regard  to  the  Indian  village  of  Caughnawaga,  the  writer, 
addressing  the  French  court,  deemed  it  necessary  to  defend 
the  Jesuit  missionaries  against  the  charge  of  preventing  the 
erection  of  any  tavern  on  tlieir  lands  at  Laj^rairie,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  their  Indian  village  !  The  only  defence  made  is 
more  curious:  it  admits  the  fact,  but  denies  the  necessity  of 
taverns  there,  as  Montreal  was  full  of  them.  In  this  brandy 
war  the  Jesuits,  being  in  charge  of  the  missions,  were  clnefly 
attacked,  and  soon  after  a  new  charge  was  made  against  them 
personally.  Frontenac  especially  insisted  that  Indian  vil- 
lages apart  would  never  result  in  civilizing  the  natives;  his 
l)lan  was  a  complete  fusion  of  the  two  races  by  bringing  them 
into  perfect  contact.  The  missionaries,  convinced  that  In- 
dians living  among  the  whites  were  irrecoverably  lost,  adher- 
ed pertinaciously  to  their  original  system  of  separate  villages 
and  gradual  advancement.  Frontdnac's  theory  is  much  up- 
held by  the  "Etablissement,"  and  many  arguments  are  adduced 
in  favor  of  this  plan,  whicli  is  assumed  to  be  that  of  the  early 
Recollects.  » 

Religion  was  at  that  time  upheld  by  popular  opinion  in 
Canada  ;  a  man  in  rank  or  office  had  to  practise  his  religious 
duties  ;  indeed,  he  never  thought  of  not  doing  so.  Now,  these 
duties  in  the  Catholic  Church  are  something  very  positive  in- 
deed, and  many  in  Canada  found  themselves  under  ecclesias- 
tical censures  for  trading  in  liquor  with  the  Indians,  and  saw 
3 


34  A  SKETCH  OF 

no  other  alternative  but  that  of  renouncing  a  lucrative  traffic, 
unless,  indeed,  they  could  find  more  lenient  confessors.  A 
party  called  for  the  return  of  the  Recollects  as  earnestly  as 
they  had  opposed  it  when  they  deemed  them  too  expensive. 
Le  Clercq  states  this  ground  of  recall  without  a  word  of  cen- 
sure. The  Recollects  returned,  became  the  fashionable  con- 
fessors, and  were  stationed  at  trading  points.  In  this  way 
they  became  involved  in  existing  disputes,  and,  favored  by 
and  favoring  Frontenac,  found  themselves  arrayed  in  a  man- 
ner against  the  rest  of  the  clergy.  A  general  charge  made 
about  the  time  seems  to  have  been  that  the  Jesuits  had  really 
made  no  discoveries,  and  no  progress  in  converting  the  In- 
dians. With  this  as  a  principle,  it  would  not  do  to  allow  the 
discovery  of  the  Mississippi  to  be  ascribed  wholly  or  in  i)art 
to  one  of  the  missionaries  of  that  society  ;  hence  a  work  de- 
dicated to  Frontenac  must  naturally  be  a  eulogy  of  his  ideas 
and  his  friends,  and  a  well-directed  attack  on  his  enemies. 
It  must  be,  and  be  exjjected  to  be,  a  party  affair,  and  docu- 
ments were  altered  to  support  their  views. 

This  explains  the  motive  for  the  doubt  as  to  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Jesuit  Relations,  and  the  treatment  of  their  mis- 
sions as  chimerical.  In  the  account  of  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity during  the  period  in  question  there  is  no  historical 
order  preserved  ;  no  mention  is  made  of  the  Huron  missions, 
their  rise  and  fall  with  the  nation,  and  the  death  of  the  va- 
rious  missionaries,  wliose  last  moments  are  a  sufficient  proof 
of  their  sincerity  in  tiie  accounts  which  they  had  given.  Of 
the  Algonquin  and  Montagnais  missions,  and  their  almost 
eniire  destruction  by  sickness  and  war,  no  notice  is  taken  ; 
and  what  is  said  of  the  Iroquois  is  very  much  garbled. 

No    missionary   ever  could    have   written  this    part.     One 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ.  35 

instance  will  show  the  spirit  of  this  portion.  Speaking  of 
the  mission  in  New  York  in  1655-5S,  he  mentions  the  fact 
that  Menard,  at  Cayuga,  baptized  four  hundred,  and  adds  : 
"  Christianity  must  have  advanced  each  year  by  still  more 
happy  and  multiplied  progress,  and  consequently  all  these  people 
must  be  converted.'^  Then,  as  lie  finds  the  mass  of  tlie  Iroquois 
in  1690,  as  we  find  them  in  18S0,  pagans,  he  concludes  tliat 
the  accounts  of  the  missions  are  false.  Now,  in  the  first 
place,  the  period  of  missionary  effort  in  New  York  embraces 
only  the  periods  from  1655  to  1658  and  from  1667  to  1685 — 
in  all  not  more  than  twenty  years,  with  a  few  visits  at  inter- 
vals before  and  after  these  dates  ;  in  1690  there  was  no  mis- 
sionary in  New  York  save  Father  Milet,  who  had  just  been 
dragged  to  Oneida  as  a  prisoner  taken  at  Fort  Frontenac 
And  as  to  baptisms,  no  fact  is  more  clearly  stated  in  early 
writers,  the  Relations  and  all  others,  than  this:  that  the  bap- 
tisms were  chiefly  those  of  dying  children  and  adults. 
Among  the  Iroquois  there  were,  indeed,  children  of  Christian 
Hiirons,  who  could  be  baptized  in  health,  but  only  there. 
Hence  the  baptisms  gave  a  very  slight  increase  to  the  number 
of  living  neophytes,  and  in  time  of  epidemics  a  very  great 
number  might  be  baptized,  and  yet  the  Church  lose  in  point 
of  numbers.  To  assume  that  four  hundred  baptisms  gave  as 
many  living  members,  and  tliat  ten  times  as  many  gave  four 
thousand,  is  a  puerility  in  one  who  is  not  much  acquainted 
with  the  matter,  but  a  gross  deceit  in  one  who  is. 

Le  Clercq  was  not,  I  believe,  the  author  of  parts  in  the 
work  that  bears  his  name  ;  that  two  or  more  hands  were  em- 
ployed in  it  will,  I  think,  appear  to  any  one  who  will  read  it 
over  attentively.  That  all  the  Recollects  should  have  been 
at  the  time  under  some  prejudice  is  natural.    Fortunately  these 


36  A    SKETCH  OF  LE  CLERCQ. 

religious  were  soon  relieved  from  their  false  position  by  the 
settlement  of  the  disputes,  and,  without  attempting  new  In- 
dian missions,  labored  for  the  good  of  tlie  colony  with  a  zeal 
l)eyond  all  praise.  Chosen  almost  always  as  chaplains  to  the 
troops  and  forts,  they  were  to  be  found  at  every  Frencli  post, 
and  thus  became  tlie  earliest  pastors  of  some  of  our  Western 
towns.  Like  the  Jesuits,  they  were  a  second  time  exclud- 
ed from  Canada  by  the  English  on  their  conquest  of  tlie 
country,  and  the  last  survivor  has  long,  since  descended  to 
the  grave.  A  few  names  are  almost  all  that  recall  to  the  tra- 
veller the  labors  and  merits  of  the  children  of  St.  Francis. 

They  did  mission  service  among  the  Indians  in  Maine,  and 
at  the  present  time  a  community  of  Franciscans  of  the  Third 
Order,  embracing  some  Indian  members,  is  laboring  among 
the  Ojibwas  of  Michigan. 


AC 


TH   iI3] 


lii^Viiv  ^^ 


.  I  f 


PREMIER   ETABLISSEMENT 

DELAFOY 

DANS     LA 

NOUVELLE  FRANCE, 

CONTENANT      lA   PURLIGATIOM* 

de  rEvangile,rHiftoire  dcsColonics  Fran- 
qoifes ,  &c  les  fameufes  decouvettes  depuis 
le  Fl^uve  de  Saint  Laurent , la  Louifianc 
&  le  Fleuve  Colbert  jufqu* au  ^Golphc 
Mexique ,  achevces  fous  la  conduite  de 
feu    MonfiCLir  de  la   Salle. 

P^  R     ORDRE   L  V   RO  f. 

/^  V  E  C  •  L  E  S    V  1  C  T  C  1  R  E  S 

remporrees  en  Canacla  par  Ics  armcs  ie  Sa. 
Ma;£Ste' fur  les  Anglois  S<.  les  Iroquois 
en   165)0. 

XX/Iic   a  Mcnficur  U  Conte^  d  £  FS-ONt  ENac^i 
Coiiverneur &  Lte-ts»ar.:  General  de  Is 
Nc:'.Viue  ¥rar.cc. 

J'.ir/t' P^rtf  Chres TIEN  LE  Ci-^KcQ^AItjJtannafrA 

aeeoHef  de  la  I'roviyire  r!c  Satni  Antotne  deV^ide 

tn  Arthols  ,  Gardun  des  KicoUsisde  Lens, 

TOME     I 

A      PARIS, 
Chc7  Amable    Auroy     rue  Saint  Jacques 
atcciiaiu-  la  Fontaine  S.  Stvcrin  a  I'lrjagc 
Saint   Jcron-.c. 

M.     DC.      .\CI. 
AvicFrivihge  dn    Roy. 


FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 
OF    THE    FAITH 

IN   NEW  FRANCE, 


Containing  the  publication  of  the  Gospel,  the   history  of  the  French 

colonies,  and  the  famous  discoveries  from  the  river  St.  Lawrence, 

Louisiana,  and    the   river    Colbert,   to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 

accomplished  under  the  direction  of  the  late 

Mr.   DE   la    SALLE. 

BY    ORDER    OF    THE    KING. 

With  the  victories   gained  in  Canada  by  his  Majesty's  arms  over  the 

English  and  Iroquois  in   1690. 

Dedicated  to  Monsieur,   the  Count  de    Frontcnac,   Governor  and 

Lieutenant-General  of  New  France. 


FATHER  CHRISTIAN    LE   CLERCQ, 

Recollect   Missionary  of  the    Province   of  St.   Anthony   of  Padua,    in    Artkois, 
Guardian  of  the  Recollects  of  Lens. 


VOL.     L 


Paris  : 
AMABLE   AUROY, 

RUE   ST.   JACQUES,    NEAR   ST.   SEVERIN'S   FOUNTAIN,   SIGN   Of   ST.   JEROME. 

169I. 
WITH   ROYAL    PRIVILEGE. 


To  the  most  high  and  puissant  iord,  Messire  Louis  de  Buade, 
Count  of  Frontenac,  Governor  and  Lieutenani-General  for  the 
King  in  Neio  France,  Acadia,  the  island  of  Newfoundland, 
and  other  countries  of  North  America  : 

My  Lord  : 

Did  I  not  feel  obliged  to  offer  you  this  little  essay  in  sa- 
cred history,  to  give  a  public  mark  of  the  veneration  and 
respect  which  I  entertain  for  your  person,  I  could  not  with- 
out injustice  publish  under  any  other  name  the  historical 
sketcli  of  a  Church  which  owes  its  main  and  most  solid  estab- 
lishment to  the  protection  and  effects  of  your  zeal.  It  has 
increased  more  than  half  in  the  number  of  subjects,  nations, 
and  extent  of  country  under  your  administration;  for  nearly 
twenty  years  you  have  powerfully  sustained  its  interests  and  in 
everything  favored  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel;  just  recently 
you  have  preserved  it  to  God  and  the  king  by  saving  it  from 
the  incursions  of  a  formidable  army  of  savages  and  infidels, 
and  a  few  days  after  from  the  attacks  and  descent  of  a  nu- 
merous fleet  of  rebels  to  religion  and  the  state  who  menaced 
it  with  total  ruin. 

I  do  not  undertake  here,  my  lord,  to  include  in  the  narrow 
limits  of  an  epistle  the  glories  of  your  house ;  all  France 
knows  its  merit,  nobility,  and  antiquity,  illustrated  on  the  pa- 
ternal and  maternal  side  by  a  long  line  of  ancestors  who  have 
graced  the  first  offices,  civil  "and  military,  who  were  eminent 
for  their  great  deeds  and  an  unswerving  attachment  to  the  in- 
terests of  their  prince,  in  even  most  dangerous  times. 


40  DEDICATION. 

It  is  known  that,  amid  the  host  of  knights  of  royal  orders 
numbered  in  your  family,  you  are  descended  from  a  father  and 
grandfather  both  invested  with  that  mark  of  honor.  Others 
were  ministers,  secretaries,  counsellors  of  state,  marshals  of 
France,  governors  of  provinces,  presidents  a  mortier,  officers 
in  the  state  or  royal  household,  and  even  now  they  consti- 
tute a  part  of  the  ornament  and  support  of  the  crown. 

It  seems,  my  lord,  that  nature  and  grace  have  combined  to 
present  in  your  person  the  ideal  of  the  Christian,  political, 
and  military  virtues  of  your  ancestors  :  that  elevation  and 
this  extent  of  universal  genius,  which  shows  nothing  but  what 
is  noble;  that  magnificent  and  liberal  heart,  so  worthy  of  your 
birth  ;  that  disposition,  ever  beneficent  even  to  your  enemies  ; 
that  easy  access  ;  that  magnanimity  in  all  changes  of  fortune, 
where  your  courage  alone  has  borne  you  up;  valiant,  just, 
equitable,  upright,  an  enemy  of  disguise,  always  moderate  in 
prosperity  and  adversity  ;  a  heart  according  to  God's  heart, 
full  of  faith,  religion,  and  piety — predominant  qualities,  the 
very  soul  of  your  conduct  in  the  posts  committed  to  you  for  the 
service  of  the  king  and  state  from  the  age  of  seventeen,  wlien 
you  made  your  first  essay  in  the  army  ;  colonel  of  the  cavalry 
regiment  of  Normandy  for  eleven  years;  major-general  in  the 
royal  armies  ;  commandant  of  detached  corps,  serving  in  Italy 
Flanders,  and  Germany,  everywhere  giving  proofs  of  your 
valor  and  experience. 

The  king  having  given  peace  to  Europe  by  the  treaty  of 
the  Pyrenees,  your  courage,  my  lord,  led  you,  under  the  gui- 
dance of  religion,  to  the  Levant  to  battle  with  unbelief. 
Worthy  of  the  choice  of  Louis  tli^  Great  and  of  the  discern- 
ment of  the  ablest  captain  of  our  age  (Turenne),  appointed 
lieutenant-general  in    Candia,  you  were  the  terror  of  the    in- 


DEDICATION.  41 

fidel,  the  honor  of  the  nation,  the  envy  of  the  Italians.  Su- 
perior in  courage  and  resolution,  the  place  would  have  held 
out  far  longer  had  your  opinions  been  followed  ;  you  had,  at 
least,  the  glory  of  arresting  the  progress  of  the  infidel,  of  being 
the  last  to  leave  the  place,  and  of  holding  out  alone  with  your 
troops  for  fifteen  days. 

God  thus,  my  lord,  prepared  your  religion  and  zeal  to 
combat  a  new  barbarism  and  an  infidelity  far  different  in  the 
New  World  to  wliich  his  providence  destined  you;  it  was,  too, 
a  few  years  after  that  the  king,  wishing  to  show  his  love  for 
New  France,  appointed  you  governor  and  his  lieutenant-gene- 
ral, a  post  which  your  piety  made  less  a  fortune  for  time  than 
an  establishment  for  eternity,  preferring  it  to  more  attractive 
ones  which  your  favor,  merit,  and  services  promised  you. 

It  would  be  too  little,  my  lord,  to  say  that  you  have  per- 
fectly honored  the  post,  which  was  not  worthy  of  you,  except 
from  the  choice  and  confidence  of  your  prince,  the  lionor  of 
representing  his  person,  and  the  glory  of  serving  religion  and 
the  state.  We  know  that  in  the  first  two  years  your  wisdom 
reassured  the  colony,  established  j^eace  with  all  barbarous 
nations,  built  a  fort  at  the  entrance  of  the  Iroquois  country 
to  keep  them  in  check,  entirely  destroyed  the  bushlopers, 
established  security  not  only  for  trade  but  also  for  religion 
by  full  and  entire  liberty  in  the  exercise  of  missions. 

No  one  ever  knew  better  than  you,  my  lord,  to  subdue  and 
sweeten  the  fierce  humor  of  so  many  different  nations,  to 
consult  their  interest  and  that  of  the  colony,  to  lay  open 
their  designs,  to  dissipate  their  factions,  to  fix  the  instability 
of  their  mind  and  bring  them  to  your  ends  for  the  king's  ser- 
vice, to  inspire  them  at  once  with  love,  fear,  obedience,  and 
respect,    so   that   they   have    not   dared    during  the   ten   years 


42  DEDICATION. 

that  you  have  been  in  the  country  to  make  any  rupture  with 
the  French  nor  with  our  allies,  in  spite  of  the  solicitation  of 
the  Europeans  in  New  England  and  New  Netherland. 

All  these  advantages  were  obtained,  my  lord,  without  ex- 
pense in  money  or  troops,  by  your  address,  vigilance,  and 
care  alone,  by  the  great  blessings  which  God  has  given  the  up- 
rightness of  your  intentions;  his  glory  alone  having  been  the 
ruling  motive  of  your  conduct  and  the  soul  of  your  actions  in 
a  perfect  disinterestedness.  God  has  not,  my  lord,  permitted 
so  just  and  regular  a  life  to  be  obscured  by  clouds  raised  by 
the  malice  of  evil-minded  men,  except  to  establish  more 
solidly  the  merit  of  your  services,  to  add  new  lustre  to  your 
glory,  and  give  publicity  to  the  testimonials  of  approval  be- 
stowed by  the  king  on  your  wisdom  ;  in  fine,  to  reserve  to 
you  alone  the  glory  of  saving  Canada  from  ruin  in  the  present 
wars,  after  having  formerly  so  happily  contributed  to  its 
establishment. 

In  the  last  campaign  we  have  seen  that  God  continues  to 
shower  his  blessings  on  the  enterprises  of  Louis  the  Great ; 
that  P'rance,  though  besieged  on  all  sides  by  her  enemies,  has 
not  failed  to  make  powerful  incursions  into  Germany,  Flan- 
ders, and  Italy;  that  the  Dauphin  scattered  on  the  Rhine  the 
formidable  imperial  army  by  his  mere  presence  and  the  repu- 
tation and  terror  of  his  arms;  the  complete  victories  which 
the  king  has  gained  in  Flanders,  Piedmont,  and  on  the  ocean 
by  the  defeat  of  the  confederate  army,  of  the  Duke  of  Sa- 
voy's, and  of  the  combined  fleets  of  England  and  Holland. 

We  have  just  learned,  my  lord,  that  New  France,  under  your 
government,  presented  in  the  same  campaign  as  complete 
success  on  sea  and  land  as  we  have  seen  in  Old  France,  by  the 
powerful  irruptions   which  you  made  last   winter  more  than 


DEDICATION.  43 

a  hundred  leagues  beyond  the  French  settlements,  storming 
forts  and  entrenched  towns,  and  spreading  terror  in  the  hos- 
tile countries  of  New  England,  New  Netlierland,  and  the  Iro- 
quois ;  that  by  your  mere  approach,  at  the  head  of  an  incon- 
siderable force,  you  have  dispersed  a  formidable  army  of 
French  and  English  rebels,  of  Iroquois  and  other  savage 
nations;  that,  finally,  you  terminated  the  campaign  by  the 
defeat  of  a  fleet  of  thirty-five  sail,  raised  the  siege  of  Quebec, 
which  was  attacked  by  sea  and  land,  repulsed  and  dispersed 
an  army  revolted  against  religion  and  the  state. 

All  these  favors  sho^vered  by  your  zeal  and  courage  on  this 
rising  Church,  with  your  natural  love  of  truth,  induce  me  to 
hope,  my  lord,  that  you  will  not  take  amiss  my  liberty  in  pub- 
lishing this  little  work  under  such  favorable  auspices,  and  to 
give  you  this  public  mark  of  the  profound  respect  witJT  which 
I  am,  my  lord, 

Your  very  humble  and  very  obedient  servant, 

FRIAR  CHRISTIAN  LE  CLERCQ. 


PREFACE. 


It  would  be  useless  to  endeavor  to  win  the  reader  by  a 
studied  preface  in  favor  of  the  little  work  here  published. 
As  truth  is  the  soul  and  proper  essence  of  history,  this  has  no 
need  of  being  supported  and  authorized  by  aught  else.  No- 
velty and  variety  have  their  charm,  even  in  a  yet  uncivilized 
barbarism.  The  plan  of  nearly  two  hundred  different  nations 
here  spoken  of,  discovered  and  visited  in  our  age,  will  afford 
some  pleasure  to  the  curious. 

Since  the  Son  of  God  predicted  that  his  Gospel  should  be 
preached  throughout  the  whole  world,  the  piety  of  the  faith- 
ful has  always  sought  to  accomplish  his  prophecy  amid  bar- 
barous tribes  and  nations  where  the  name  of  the  true  God 
was  before  unknown  ;  and  all  good  Frenchmen,  who  share 
alike  in  the  glory  of  the  king  and  the  advantage  of  the  na- 
tion, will  learn  with  pleasure  that  Louis  the  Great,  even  more 
zealous  for  the  establishment  of  religion  than  for  the  aggran- 
dizement of  his  states,  has  borne  the  light  of  the  Faith  and 
planted  the  standard  of  the  cross  from  the  commencement  of 
his  reign  in  all  the  vast  countries  of  the  new  world  submitted 
to  his  power. 

Persons  little  versed  in  knowledge  of  distant  countries  im- 
agine that  New  France  is  included  in  the  narrow  bounds  of 
the  least  part  of  America;  they  must  know  that  it  now  com- 
prises nearly  eight  hundred  leagues  of  known  country  from  the 
great  bay,  ascending  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  almost  as  much  on 
the  river  Colbert,  or  Missisipi,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and 


PREFACE.  45 

that  the  depth  in  land  of  both  river-shores  contains  vast  pro- 
vinces peopled  with  infinite  tribes;  so  that,  without  speaking 
of  the  Antilles,  under  the  king's  sway,  his  majesty  possesses 
on  the  mainland  more  territory  than  all  Europe,  and  a  region 
capable  of  forming  the  greatest  empire  in  the  world,  the  first 
publication  of  the  Gospel  in  which  we  here  attempt  to  de- 
scribe. 

It  seems  enough  from  this  title  that,  not  to  wander  from 
my  subject,  I  should  but  touch  upon  the  situation,  soil,  com- 
merce, manners,  laws,  and  customs  of  all  these  countries,  so 
far  as  is  necessary  to  give  a  main  knowledge  of  the  matter 
treated  of,  and  of  which  I  give  only  an  abridged  essay,  sufifi- 
cient,  however,  to  instruct  the  reader  of  the  very  moderate 
progress  the  Churcli  has  hitherto  made. 

The  first  chapter  will  serve  as  a  prelude  and  introduction 
to  tlie  rest  of  the  work,  which  we  divide  into  three  ei)ochs. 

The  first  from  1615,  when  tlie  first  establishment  of  ihe 
Faith  began,  to  1629,  when  the  English  seized  the  country. 

The  second  from  1632,  when  the  king  resumed  possession 
of  New  France,  to  1663. 

The  third  from  the  said  year,  when  the  king  took  the  coun- 
try from  the  hands  of  the  Company,  to  the  present  year,  1691. 

If  the  reader  finds  neither  numerous  conversions  nor  a 
cluirch  formed  which  answers  in  its  progress  to  the  untir- 
ing exertion  of  so  many  zealous,  learned,  and  disinterested 
missionaries  who  have  for  nearly  a  century  been  laboring  to 
clear  that  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  the  reader's  piety  will  have 
reason  to  adore,  in  a  spirit  of  faith,  God's  design  on  liis  peo- 
ple;  to  conjure  Heaven  to  liasten  the  auspicious  time  and  mo- 
ment of  grace,  without  which  apostolic  men  can  do  nothing  ; 
to  acknowledge  the  signal  favor  of  the  Lord  to  us,  excluding 
tliat  multitude  of  nations  who  live  without  faith,  law,  or  God 
in  this  world,  and  whose  eyes  are  closed  to  the  knowledge  of 
truth. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

First  discoveries  of  New  France,     .....         49 

CHAPTER  n. 

First  embarkation  of  the  missionaries  to  plant  the  Faith  in  New 

France,     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .81 


CHAPTER    HI. 

First  establishment  of  the  Recollects — The  first  Mass  ever  said  in 

Canada — The  missions  made  immediately  after  their  arrival,         86 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Cjiamplain's  voyage  to  France  with  the  Reverend  Father-Com- 
missary of  the  mission  to  represent  the  state  of  all  the  new 
discoveries  and  effect  their  establishment,        .  .  .        108 


CHAPTER  V. 

New  progress  for  the  establishment  of  the  Faith  in  New  France 

from  1618  to  1620,  ......       138 


CONTENTS.  47 

CHAPTER  VI. 

I'AGE 

The  governor  and  chief  men  of  the  colony  depuie  Father 
George  le  Baillif  to  the  king  for  the  interest  of  New 
France,      ........       157 

CHAPTER  VH. 

Establishment  of  a  novitiate  and  seminary  in  New  France — Bap- 
tism of  some  Indians — Incursion  of  the  Iroquois,  and  other 
different  incidents  in  our  missions,       ....        175 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Death  of  a  Recollect  on  the  mission  of  Acadia — Arrival  of  new 
missionaries  at  Quebec — Happy  progress  of  the  Huron  mis- 
sion— State  of  those  of  the  Nypisiriniens,  Three  Rivers, 
and  Tadoussac,  .  .  .  .  .  .       199 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Recollects  of  the  province  of  Paris  solicit  in  France  a  mis- 
sion of  the  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  for  Canada — They  ob- 
tain it  after  overcoming  the  difficulties  that  arise — The  Re- 
verend Jesuit  Fathers  go  to  Canada  for  the  first  time  in 
1625,  ........       229 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Murder  of  Father  Nicholas,  Recollect  missionary  to  the  Hurons, 
committed  by  the  Indians — Fruitless  attempts  of  the  Recol- 
lects and  Jesuits  to  reach  that  Father's  mission — Deputation 
of  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  to  France — Wintering  of  the  Re- 
collects and  Jesuits  at  Quebec,  with  many  historical  recol- 
lections on  the  first  establishment  of  the  Faith,  .  .       242 


48  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 

»  PAGE 

The  Jesuit  Fathers  proceed  to  begin  tlieir  first  missions,  conduct- 
ed by  the  Recollects — Several  incidents  happening  in  that 
and  other  missions,  ......       261 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  are  traversed  again  in  their  estab- 
lishment— Tragical  fate  of  the  Canada  fleet — Unfortunate 
accidents  which  befell  the  colony,  ....       277 

CHAPTER  XH. 

New  misfortunes  caused  by  the  descent  and  irruption  of  the 
English  in  1628 — Capture  and  desolation  of  the  country  by 
the  said  English  in  1629,  .....       288 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  King  resumes  possession  of  Canada — The  Reverend  Jesuit 
Fathers  return — Unavailing  efforts  of  the  Recollects  to 
restore  their  former  mission — Arrival  of  the  Jesuits  at 
Quebec,     ........       310 

CHAPTER  XV. 

New  attempts  of  the  Recollects  of  the  Province  of  Paris  to  re- 
turn to  Canada,  and  various  events  which  happened  in  this 
matter,       ........       347 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Progress  of  the  Church  in  New  France  among  the  Indian 
nations  during  the  years  that  the  country  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  Gentlemen  of  the  Company,  Seigneurs  and  Pro- 
prietors of  Canada  by  royal  grant,  ....       376 


FIRST 

Establishment  of  the  Faith 

IN 

NEW  FRANCE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

FIRST    DISCOVERIES    OF    NEW     FRANCE. 

T  SPEAK  here  of  the  first  estabhshment  of  the 
faith  in  New  France  only  with  regard  to  the 
order  of  God,  who,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  his 
providence,  knows  the  times  and  moments  which 
he  has  marked  for  the  conversion  of  men  and  wills 
that  his  Church  be  established  by  successive  steps, 
and  that  his  most  holy  truths  be  gradually  dis- 
covered and  announced  to  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  in  order  to  show  more  clearly  the  effects  of 
his  justice  and  mercy. 

4 


50  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Had  the  light  of  the  faith  been  as  common  as 
that  of  the  sun,  it  is  clear  that  it  would  have  lost 
much  of  its  price  and  merit  from  not  having  that 
holy  obscurity  which  captivates  our  minds,  and  the 
miraculous  conversions  which  have  taken  place 
throughout  the  world,  losing  their  difficulty,  would 
also  at  the  same  time  lose  much  of  their  splen- 
dor. 

It  is,  then,  in  the  order  of  that  ever  infinitely 
adorable  conduct  that  the  numerous  Indian  nations 
of  New  France,  after  being  long,  by  a  secret  judg- 
ment of  God,  buried  in  a  profound  blindness,  were 
at  last  discovered  in  the  reign  of  Francis  L,  and  re- 
ceived the  brightest  lights  of  the  Gospel  in  that  of 
Louis  the  Just.  It  was  not  the  art,  or  skill,  or  hap- 
py temerity  of  John  Verrazano  and  James  Cartier, 
who  dared  successively  to  approach  these  unknown 
shores  amid  the  shoals,  and  storms,  and  tempests 
of  the  ocean  ;  but  it  was  God  alone,  who,  employ- 
ing the  curiositv  of  those  famous  pilots  and  the 
generous  inclination  of  a  great  prince  who  wnshed 
to  extend  the  limits  of  his  empire,  the  glory  and 


OF  THE  FAITH.  5 1 

majesty  of  his  name  in  those  vast  provinces,  chose 
to  open  to  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  the  way  to 
New  France.  He  it  was,  I  say,  who  drew  from  his 
treasures  those  winds  which  impelled  their  ships, 
and,  discovering  to  interested  men  the  temporal 
riches  of  those  great  countries,  communicated  to 
those  nations  the  undying  riches  of  the  grace  of 
religion,  by  the  preaching  of  his  Gospel. 

The  Son  of  God,  who  knows  his  elect,  and  the 
time  and  the  moment  having  arrived  in  the  year 
1615,  cast  his  eyes  on  the  Recollects  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  St.  Denis  in  France,  and  honored  them 
with  the  glorious  quality  of  his  ministers,  choosing 
them  as  the  vases  of  election  and  the  first  apostles 
of  Canada  to  carry  the  light  of  the  faith  there  and 
the  knowledge  of  his  name.  He  wished  his  inher- 
itance to  be  first  cultivated  by  the  hands  of  those 
apostolic  men,  and  thus  a  church  was  formed,  and 
thus  Christianity,  as  we  shall  see,  was  established 
amid  the  West  Indies,  as  it  was  long  before  estab- 
lished in  the  East  Indies,  by  the  zeal  and  ministry 
of  the  religious  of  St.  Francis. 


52  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

It  is  notorious  that  the  commencement  of  great 
undertakings  is  ordinarily  very  difficult.  John  Ver- 
razano,  a  Florentine  by  birth,  after  having,  in  1524, 
happily  discovered  all  the  sea-coast  and  country  be- 
tween Florida  and  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence, of  which  he  took  possession  in  the  name  of 
Francis  I.,  derived,  nevertheless,  from  that  glorious 
though  laborious  discovery,  only  the  honor  of 
having  made  it.  He  had  nearly  the  same  fate  as 
Moses;  he  merely  saw  that  vast  country  promising 
him  immense  wealth  ;  he  proposed  to  enter  it,  to 
make  a  second  voyage  and  considerable  establish- 
ments, but  death,  which  surprised  him  on  the  way, 
gave  him  no  time  to  accomplish  his  designs."* 

*  The  earliest  allusion  to  French  discoveries  in  America  is  in  the 
"  Chronicon  of  Eusebius,"  1511  and  1512,  where,  under  the  )'ear  150S, 
reference  is  made  to  Indians  taken  to  France  by  Aubert  Shea's 
"Charlevoix,"  i.  p.  106.  The  "  Memoires  Chronologiques  de  Di- 
eppe "  make  Verrazzano  accompany  Aubert.  The  authenticit)'  of  the 
account  bearing  the  name  of  Verrazzano,  published  by  Ramusio  (iii.  p. 
423)  in  1556,  is  discussed  by  Buckingham  Smith,  "An  Enquir}'  into 
the  Authenticit)^  of  Documents,"  etc.,  N.  Y.,  1S64  ;  J.  C.  Brevoort, 
"  Verrazano,  the  Navigator,"  N.  Y.,  1S74  ;  Henry  C.  Murphy,  "  Voyage 
of  Verrazzano,"  N.  Y.,  1875;  B.  F.  Da  Costa,  "Verrazano,  the  Navi- 
gator," N.  Y.,  18S0.  There  seems  no  doubt  that  Verrazzano  was  hung 
in  Spain  as  a  i^irate. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  53 

James  Cartier  was  much  more  fortunate  than 
Verrazano.  This  excellent  pilot,  one  of  the  ablest 
of  his  time,  wishing  to  signalize  his  noble  courage 
by  the  discovery  of  some  new  land,  sailed  from  St. 
Malo,  the  20th  April,  1534,  where  he  returned  the 
same  year,  after  having  visited  and  reconnoitred 
the  coasts  and  lands  which  lie  north  and  south  of 
the  mouth  of  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence.'""  His 
return,  and  the  favorable  account  of  all  the  im- 
portant things  he  had  seen,  joined  to  the  eager- 
ness he  showed  to  make  a  second  voyage,  and 
penetrate  as  far  as  he  could  into  that  unknown 
country,  extremely  pleased  the  court.  King 
Francis  I.  gave  him  his  commissions;  Monsieur 
Philip  Chabot,  then  High  Admiral  of  France, 
contributed  with  all  his  power  to  the  execution  of 
that  glorious  enterprise,  and  the  i6th  May,  1535, 
James  Cartier  a  second  time  set  sail  for  the  dis- 
covery of  Canada,  with  three  ships,  one  of  a  hun- 


*  The  narrative  of  Cartier's  first  voyage  was  printed  by  Ramusio 
in  1556  (iii.  p.  436)  ;  at  Rouen  159S  (reprinted,  Paris,  1S65)  ;  and  from 
an  early  manuscript,  Paris,  1867. 


54  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

dred  and  twenty  tons,  the  other  of  sixty,  the  third 
of  thirty.'"'  His  voyage  was  prosperous  and  he  had 
the  honor  of  first  entering  the  river  St.  Lawrence, 
giving  names,  w^hich  still  subsist,  to  the  islands, 
capes,  anchorages,  and  most  important  lands.  He 
even  penetrated  with  some  barks  as  far  as  the  island 
we  call  Mont  Royal,  or  Ville  Marie,  and  wintered 
in  a  river  which  even  now  bears  his  name,  near  the 
Little  Richelieu  ;f  but  the  winter  seemed  so  severe 
and  difficult  that,  having  lost  the  greatest  part  of 
his  men,  wdio  died  of  the  land  disease,  or  scurvy, 
he  was  compelled  to  return  to  France  and  aban- 
don one  of  his  three  ships  in  the  river, J  having 
difficulty  in  finding  men  enough  to  work  the  other 
two.  He  weighed  anchor  May  6,  1536,  and 
reached   St.    Malo   on  the   i6th  July  in   the  same 

*  Forty.      "  Brief  Recit." 

f  He  really  wintered  in  the  Ste.  Croix,  now  called  the  St-  Charles 
(see  authorities  in  Shea's  "Charlevoix,"  i.  pp.  116-7),  and  not  in  that 
known  as  the  Riviere  de  Jacques  Cartier. 

X  He  left  a  vessel  at  Ste.  Croix  ("  Brief  Recit,"  fol.  39-41)  and  a 
barque  at  Renouse,  N.  F.  (fol.  46).  He  reached  St.  Malo  July  6 
(//■'.)  The  original  account  of  the  voyage  is  the  "  Brief  Recit  & 
succincte  narration  de  la  nauigation  faicte  es  ysles  de  Canada." 
Paris,  1545  ;  reprint  Paris,   1863. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  55 

year,  not  intending  to  return  again  to  Canada, 
which  he  then  beHeved  to  be  incapable  of  settle- 
ment, both  on  account  of  the  excessive  cold  and 
the  extreme  rigor  of  the  winter  season,""  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  diseases,  which  had  utterly  discour- 
aged him  and  had  defeated  all  the  steps  he  had 
taken  to  lay  the  first  foundations  of  a  colony  in 
New  France.  This  was  the  reason  why  the  court 
for  some  years  neglected  this  glorious  design. 

The  enterprises  of  the  Sieurs  de  Roberval,  of 
the  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  and  of  Chauvin,  who 
at  different  times  in  the  reigns  of  Francis  I., 
Henry  IV.,  and  Louis  XIII.  made  several  voyages 
into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  were  not  more  suc- 
cessful. 

The  first  was  a  gentleman  of  the  district  of 
Vimeux,  in  Picardy,  who,  to  show  the  king  his 
zeal  to  please  him  and  second  the  inclination  dis- 
played by  that  great  prince  of  a  w^ish  to  resume  in 
earnest  that  exploration,  offered  him  his  servnces, 
and  in    1541   obtained  of    Francis    I.   the    title    of 

*  This  is  not  justified  by    Cartier's   language. 


56  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Lieutenant-General  of  his  majesty,  with  the  powers 
and  commissions  necessary  for  that  noble  enter- 
prise ;  '^'  but  in  order  to  succeed  he  endeavored  by 
all  possible  means  to  secure  James  Cartier.  That 
famous  pilot  yielded,  and,  banishino^  the  recollection 
of  the  many  toils  and  perils  he  had  met  before  in  his 
two  former  fruitless  attempts,  in  the  hope  of  more 
happy  results  undertook  a  third  voyage  to  New 
France.  The  Sieur  de  Roberval  gav^e  him  five  ves- 
sels, with  which  he  arrived  safely  in  the  river  St. 
Lawrence,  where  he  wintered.  He  even  built  a 
palisade  fort  f  to  protect  himself  from  Indian  at- 
tacks, to  which  he  was  frequently  exposed.  The 
scanty  force,  however,  which  he  could  oppose  to 
the  great  number  of  the  savages  induced  him  to 
return  to  France  to  avoid  a  war  which  could  not 
but  be  most  disastrous.  He  had  no  sooner  dis- 
closed his  plan   to  the    officers    of  his   expedition 

*  Roberval's  commission,  etc.,  arc  in  Harrissc,  "  Notes,"  pp.  243- 
277. 

f  He  sailed  May  23,  1541,  and  reached  Ste.  Croix  August  23. 
He  built  Fort  Charlesbourg  Ro3'al,  at  Cap  Rouge  River,  four  leagues 
above  his   old  fort. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  57 

than  it  was  carried  out.  They  weighed  anchor 
hastily  enough,"'  and  were  already  in  th(^  neigh- 
borhood of  the  great  island  of  Newfoundland, 
when  they  met  the  Sieur  de  Roberval  bringing 
succor.  He  fully  persuaded  them  to  return.  They 
sailed  on  together  f  and  arrived  safely  in  Canada, 
where  this  little  colony  wintered,  and  even  spent 
several  years,  during  which  the  Sieur  de  Roberval 
undertook  several  important  voyages  in  the  Sag- 
renai"  J  and  several  other  rivers.  He  it  was  who 
sent  Alphonse,  a  very  expert  pilot,  a  native  of 
Xaintonge,  to  Labrador  to  find  a  passage  to  the 
East  Indies,  as  he  hoped;  but  Alphonse,  having 
failed  in  his  design  on  account  of  the  ice-moun- 
tains, which  prevented  further  progress,  was  obliged 
to  return  to  Monsieur  de  Roberval  with  no  ad- 
vantage but  that  of  having  discovered  the  passage 

*  In  the  spring  of  1542.     Hakluyt,   iii.    pp.    233-242. 

f  Cartier  did  not  return  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  but  kept  on  to 
France.  Roberval  rebuilt  Cartier's  second  fort,  calling  it  Charles- 
bourg  Ro)'al.  He  did  not  remain  for  several  3'ears  ;  Cartier  took 
all  back  in  1544.  See  Shea's  "  Charlevoix,"  i.  p.  130  ;  Ferland, 
"  Cours  d'Histoire,"   i.  p.   45. 

X  Saguena}-. 


58  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

between  the  island  of  Newfoundland  and  the 
mainland  north,  in  latitude  52°."'  The  English 
have  made  several  voyages  there  in  vain.  John 
Davis  advanced  to  72°,  and  passed  by  the  strait 
still  called  Davis's  from  him.  Hudson,  an  Eng- 
lish captain,  in  161 2  discovered  at  63°  the  pas- 
sage leading  to  the  bay  which  bears  his  name, 
Hudson.  The  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  have 
not  failed  to  attempt  this  western  passage,  but 
have  never  acquired  more  knowledge  of  it  than 
the  Dutch,  wiio  sought  it  by  Nova  Zembla.  We 
had  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  enterprise 
was  reserved  for  Monsieur  de  la  Salle,  if  wretches 
who  deserved  the  severest  punishment  had  not 
arrested  the  course  of  his  glorious  projects  and 
brilliant  discoveries  by  murdering  that  incompar- 
able man,  as  you  will  see  in  the  relation  which  I 
shall  make  of  it  towards  the  close  of  this  his- 
tory. 

*  "  Les  VoA'ages  auanturcux  dv  capitaine  Ian  Alfonce,  saincton- 
geois,"  were  printed  at  Poitiers  in  1559,  and  at  Rouen  in  1578.  His 
"  Cosmographie  "  remains,  in  manuscript,  at  the  National  Library, 
Paris.     Harrisse,  "  Notes,"   pp.  6-9. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  59 

Monsieur  de  Roberval  returned  to  France,  and, 
setting  out  a  second  time  with  some  ships  that  he 
had  fitted  out  to  continue  his  enterprise  and  the 
establishment  of  the  colony  of  New  France,  was 
unfortunately  lost  with  his  brother,  without  any 
tidings  ever  arriving  of  the  circumstances  of  their 
shipwreck.  The  great  hopes  conceived  for  Can- 
ada were  blasted  by  the  loss  of  so  zealous  a  man, 
and  nothing  more  of  importance  was  done  in  the 
reign  of  Francis  I.   to   settle   the   colony. 

The  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  a  Breton  gentleman, 
revived  the  design  in  1598,  offering  his  property, 
services,  and  person  to  Henry  IV.  to  accomplish 
it.*  That  prince,  by  a  truly  royal  bounty,  power- 
fully encouraged  him  to  pursue  his  glorious  de- 
signs, giving  him  well-equipped  ships  and  every- 
thing necessary  to  facilitate  the  execution  of  his 
enterprise.     But  the  idea  conceived  of  Canada  by 

*  The  first  commission  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche  was  given  by- 
Henry  III.  in  March,  1577  ("  Relation  originale  de  Jacques  Car- 
tier — Documents  Inedits,"  p.  5),  and  renewed  the  next  year.  His 
letters-patent  were  issued  January  12,  1598.  "  Edict  contenant,  etc.," 
Rouen,    159S.     See  Harrisse,    "  Notes,"  p.   11. 


6o  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  little  progress  made  there  till  then  was  so  dis- 
advantageous  throughout  France  that  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Roche,  finding  none  scarcely  willing  to 
embark  with  him,  was  at  last  obliged  to  take  from 
the  royal  prisons  men  condemned  to  death  or 
the  galleys  for  their  crimes.  These  wretches,  to 
the  number  of  fifty,  gladly  left  their  dungeons  to 
serve  in  these  ships  and  pass  to  a  new  world 
where  men  supposed  they  might  honor  the  king's 
bounty  by  a  life  the  opposite  of  which  had  brought 
them  to  the  last  of  misfortunes.  The  voice  of  Hea- 
ven was  not  apparently  unison  with  that  of  earth 
in  favor  of  these  wretches,  and  the  king's  pardon 
served  only  to  display  more  strikingly  God's  jus- 
tice on  the  guilty,  who  perished  at  last  by  a  death 
infinitely  more  cruel  and  terrible  than  that  of  the 
greatest  criminals. 

Chidotel,^'  a  Norman  by  birth,  who  alone  at 
the  time  had  any  great  knowledge  of  the  coasts 
of  New  France,  was  chosen  to  be  the  pilot  and 
conductor  of  these  ships.     The  safety  of  his  voy- 

*  Champlain  has  Chedotel,  and   some  documents  Chefdhotel. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  6l 

age  justified  the  estimate  formed  of  his  great  ex- 
perience. He  anchored  near  Sable  Island,  where 
Monsieur  de  la  Roche  landed  the  men  whom  he 
had  taken  from  the  prisons  by  the  king's  order, 
and  left  them  on  the  island  with  provisions  and 
goods,  intending  to  return  for  them  as  soon  as  he 
had  found  on  the  coast  of  Acadia  a  fit  place  to 
found  a  colony.  He  sought  in  vain  ;  head-winds, 
storms,  and  tempests  baffled  all  his  plans,  and  he 
was  unwillingly  compelled  to  abandon  his  men  to 
chance  and  to  return  to  France.  On  his  arrival 
there  everything  traversed  his  design  of  returning 
to  Sable  Island,  and,  as  though  the  sentence  of  death 
had  been  irrevocably  pronounced  on  the  wretches 
he  had  left  there,  he  was  himself  imprisoned  by 
the  Duke  de  Mercoeur."'^  He  regained  his  liberty, 
indeed,  but  met  such  invincible  obstacles  to  his 
enterprise  that,  compelled  to  abandon  it  entirely, 
he  died   of   chagrin. 

We   leave  the  reader  to  imagine  the  deplorable 

*  This  must  have  been  earlier.        See  Shea's    "Charlevoix,"  i.  p. 
244. 


62  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

fate  of  the  poor  wretches  landed  on  Sable  Island. 
Ignorant  of  the  fate  of  the  ships,  what  suspicions 
and  judgments  did  they  not  form  against  Monsieur 
de  la  Roche,  as  if  he  had  landed  them  only  to  aban- 
don them  to  despair  and  rage  !  Extreme  misery, 
want  of  all  things,  without  any  hope  of  aid,  afflicted 
them,  and,  amid  frightful  pictures  of  a  horrible  and 
cruel  death,  which  seemed  inevitable,  they  dragged 
on  for  five  years  a  languishing  existence,  which 
almost  all  ended  wretchedly.  They  found,  indeed, 
on  the  island  some  cattle  and  hogs  that  Monsieur 
de  Lery  and  some  Portuguese  had  left  there  when 
they  endeavored  to  plant  a  colony  there  ;  but  hav- 
ing consumed  their  provisions  and  all  that  they 
could  kill,  they  were  compelled  to  live  on  fish  and 
dress  in  sealskins,  eating  the  flesh  of  those  animals, 
which  soon  failed  and  left  them  at  last  in  so  great 
misery  that  of  fifty  men  only  ten  survived  when 
pilot  Chidotel,  on  a  codfishing  voyage,  took  them 
off  by  the  king's  orders  and  presented  them  to 
Henry  IV.,  who  wished  to  see  them  at  Rouen, 
and  gave  each  fifty  crowns  to  encourage  them  to 


OF  THE  FAITH.  63 

return   again   to    Canada    or   to    console    them    in 
France  for  their  misery  and  misfortune.'"* 

The  three  successive  voyages  made  by  Sieur 
Chauvin,  captain  of  a  royal  vessel,  with  the  Sieurs 
de  Mons  and  Pontgrave,  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence 
after  de  la  Roche's  death,  in  1599,  1600,  1601,  were 
not  more  successful.  Sieur  Chauvin,  the  head  of 
the  enterprise,  having  himself  died  in  the  third,  and 
all  his  designs  having  completely  failed.f  After  so 
many  adventures  and  unsuccessful  but  often-re- 
newed attempts,  the  court,  disgusted  with  these 
new  countries,  would  have  entirely  abandoned  the 
design  of  sending  any  one,  had  they  not  found 
an  intrepid  man  in  the  person  of  Monsieur  de 
Champlain,  to  whom  God  reserved  the  glory  of 
laying  the  first  foundations  of  the  colony  which 
now  exists.  In  1603,  then,  he  appeared  for  the 
first  time  in  Canada,  where  he  arrived  safely.     He 

*  As  to  La  Roche,  see  Champlain,  "Voyage,"  1613,  p.  4  ;  Prince 
Society's  edition,  ii.  p.  4  ;  1632,  pp.  32-3  ;  Laverdiere's  edition,  pp.  152, 
695,    1311  ;  Lescarbot,    1618,  pp    21,  406-7. 

f  Chauvin  budt  a  house  at  the  mouth  of  the  Saguenay.  See 
Champlain,  "  VoA^age,"  1613,  pp.  4,  172  ;  Prince  Society's  edition,  ii.  p. 
170  ;   1632,   pp.   34-7. 


64  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

explored  the  country  during  the  stay  which  he 
made,  drew  up  a  plan  and  charts  as  royal  geogra- 
pher, observed  the  manners  and  customs,  and,  as  he 
had  as  much  breadth  of  mind  as  zeal  for  his  prince's 
service,  he  remarked,  with  great  discernment,  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  and  the  means  of  advanc- 
ing  the  glory  of  God  and  the  honor  of  his  king.^" 

Mr.  de  Champlain  had  made  this  first  voyage  at 
the  instance  and  by  the  aid  of  Monsieur  de  la 
Chatte.f  governor  of  Dieppe.  This  voyage  hav- 
ing succeeded  pretty  well  in  exploring  the  country, 
he  returned  to  France,  made  his  report  to  the 
court,  where  he  was  favorably  heard ;  he  was  even 

*  Samuel  de  Champlain,  a  native  of  Brouage,  had  served  in  the 
army  under  Heniy  IV.,  and  then  made  a  voyage  to  Mexico  in  the 
Spanish  servire,  1599-1601.  "Brief  Discovrs  "  ;  Laverdiere's  Cham- 
plain, Quebec,  1870;  vol  i. ;  Hakluyt  Society,  1859.  His  first  vo3'age 
to  Canada  is  described  in  his  "  Des  Savvages,"  Paris,  1603  ;  Laver- 
diere's Champlain,  Quebec,  vol.  ii. 

■\  Aymard  de  Chaste,  Knight  of  Malta,  commander  of  Lormetau, 
Grand-Master  of  the  Order  of  St.  Lazarus,  ambassador  in  England, 
governor  of  Dieppe,  obtained  letters-patent  after  Chauvin,  and  died 
soonafter  sending  out  an  expedition.  May  13,  1603.  Harrisse,  "Notes," 
pp.  16,  iS  ;  Faillon,  "  Histoire  de  la  Colonie  francaise,"  i.  p.  75.  His 
tomb  has  recently  been  discovered  at  Dieppe.  Faillon  "  Histoire  de  la 
Colonie,"  i.  p.  84. 


SAMUEL   de   GHAMPLAIF. 


.i»i  di',?,iuihnqOy'niBam/'i  aitif  tiv Ifcaamvf ?or'iri!if 


OF  THE  FAITH.  65 

fortunate  enough  to  find  a  person  willing  to  support 
his  explorations  by  his  credit  and  means.  This  was 
Monsieur  de  Monts,"'"'  of  the  province  of  Xain- 
tonge,  Gentleman  Ordinary  of  the  King's  Cham- 
ber. This  gentleman,  having  obtained  powers  and 
•commissions  from  his  majesty  in  i6o8,f  equipped 
two  vessels,  and  gave  the  command  to  Monsieur 
de  Champlain,  who  sailed  from  Dieppe  and  arrived 
safely  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  advancing  to  the 
spot  which  was  to  be,  as  it  now  is,  the  capital  of 
New  France.  Here  he  built  a  structure  to  serve 
as  a  storehouse,  and  erected  a  fort  to  defend  them 
against  the  attacks  of  the  Indians.  This  place  is  a 
promontory  on  the  mainland  which  juts  into  the 
river  St.  Lawrence  ;  it  was  called  Quebec.  J 

*  Peter  du  Guast,  Sieur  de  Monts,  was  governor  of  Pons.  His 
commission  is  in  Lescarbot,  1612,  p.  431,  1618,  p.  417  ;  "  Memoires 
des  Commissaires,"  ii.  p.  441  ;  Murdoch's  "  Nova  Scotia,"  i.  p.  21. 

f  See  letters  in  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  1613,  p.  136  ;  Prince  edi- 
tion, ii.  p.  161. 

X  He  left  Honfieur  April  13,  160S,  and  anchored  at  Tadoussac  June 
3.  After  exploring  the  Saguenay  he  ascended  to  Quebec,  reaching  it 
July  3.  He  immediately  began  the  erection  of  a  storehouse  and 
dwellings.  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  1613,  pp.  148-156  ;  Prince  edition, 
ii.  pp.  175-184  ;  Sagard,  "  Grand  Voyage,"  p.  52. 
5 


66  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

The  scurvy  or  land  disease,  which  carried  off 
twenty  of  the  strongest  and  most  robust  men  of 
his  twenty-eight,  with  the  other  difficulties  which 
he  had  to  surmount  during  the  winter,  could  not 
damp  his  courage  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  derived 
strength  from  his  weakness  beyond  what  we  can 
imagine.  In  the  spring  the  Sieur  du  Pontgrave 
brought  him  men  and  relief.  Animated  by  this 
succor,  he  left  the  Sieur  du  Pontgrave  in  the  fort 
of  Quebec,  and  ascended  on  a  campaign  against 
the  Iroquois  with  the  Hurons,  Algomquins,  and 
Montagnais,"  whose  friendship  he  had  gained. 
They  entered  the  enemy's  country  by  the  river 
which  goes  to  Chambly,t  and  thence  to  the  lake 
by  which  we  now  pass  to  New  Netherland,  about 
eighty  leagues  distant  from  the  first  settlements  of 
New  France,  and  to  which  the  Sieur  de  Cham- 
plain    gave    his    name,    which     it    has    ever    since 

"■  He  met  a  band  of  two  or  three  hundred  Ochateguins  (Hurons)  and 
Algonquins  camped  ne;ir  the  present  Batiscan  (Laverdiere's  Cham- 
plain,  1603,  p.  29  ;  1613,  p.  175  ;  Prince  edition,  ii.  p  202),  and  then  re- 
turned to  Quebec  to  prepare  for  the  expedition.  The  Montagnais 
must  then  have  joined  him. 
f  The  Richelieu,  or  Sorel. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  67 

borne.*  The  Iroquois  whom  he  found  on  the 
banks  of  this  lake  discharged  on  them  showers  of 
arrows ;  but  the  firearms  of  Monsieur  de  Cham- 
plain  made  so  much  noise,  killed  and  wounded  so 
many  of  the  Indians,  that  the  Iroquois,  who  had 
never  known  what  guns  and  pistols  were,  thought 
that  some  spirit  of  the  other  world  had  come  to 
make  war  on  them.  They  fled  with  such  precipita- 
tion that  they  left  the  victors  twelve  of  their  prison- 
ers, whom  Monsieur  de  Champlains  Indians  led 
in  triumph  to  their  villages,  everywhere  bestowing 
a  thousand  praises  on  the  great  captain  of  the 
French,  to  whom  they  rightly  attributed  the  honor 
of  the  victory  which  they  had  just  gained  over  their 
most  cruel  enemies.f 

This  first  advantage  and  the  success  of  this  first 
war  contributed  greatly  to  the  design  which  Mon- 
sieur de  Champlain  had  of  establishing  his  colony, 

*  He  entered  Lake  Champlain  apparently  about  July  24,  1609. 

f  This  action  with  the  Iroquois  took  place  near  Ticonderoga. 
Brodhead's  "  History  of  New  York,"  i.  p.  18  ;  "  New  York  Doc.  Hist.," 
iii.  p.  I  ;  Prince  edition  of  Champlain,  i.  p.  91,  ii.  p.  223.  Laverdiere, 
Champlain,  iii.  p.  193,  thinks  it  was  near  Crown  Point. 


68  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

as  the  Algomquins,  Hurons,  and  Montagnais,  who 
liad  seen  with  wonder  the  surprising  effects  of  our 
lirearms,  for  the  first  time  asked  the  protection  and 
friendship  of  the  French,  which  was  readily  granted 
amid  solemn  feasts  and  reciprocal  presents  made 
on  both  sides  to  form  an  offensive  and  defensive 
league  against  the  Iroquois,  the  common  enemies 
of  Canada.  This  new  alliance  facilitated  the  tw^o 
voyages  which  Monsieur  de  Champlain  had  re- 
solved to  make  to  France,  and  which  he,  in  fact, 
made  in  1610  and  161 1,  to  inform  Monsieur  de 
Mons  of  all  that  he  had  done  to  found  the  colony. 
His  wisdom  and  conduct  were  so  universally  ap- 
proved that  the  Prince  de  Conde,  to  whom  he  ap- 
plied, on  behalf  of  Monsieur  de  Mons,  to  ask  his 
protection,  honored  him  with  the  title  of  his  lieu- 
tenant in  Canada,  with  full  power  to  prevent  other 
French  ships  from  going  to  trade  with  the  Indians 
on  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence.* 

Many  mechanics  of  all  trades  and  a  great  many 

*  Champlain's  commission  was  dated   November  22,  1612.     Laver- 
diere's  Champ.,  vi.  p.  88.     "  Mc-moiies  des  ("ommissaiies,"  ii.  p.  451. 


OF  THE  FAITH  69 

farmers  offered  to  follow  him  to  cultivate  the  land. 
He  accepted  them,  embarked,  and  set  sail  for  Que- 
bec, where  he  arrived  safely  with  all  his  company. 
It  is  easy  to  conceive  the  joy  which  his  arrival  gave 
our  Indian  allies,  who  now  conceived  the  greatest 
hopes  of  entirely  exterminating  the  Iroquois  by  the 
help  of  our  men. 

Monsieur  de  Champlain  first  set  to  clear  the 
ground,  which  from  the  next  year  began  to  promise 
the  new  settlers  that  abundant  fertility  which  we 
now  see  there.  After  having  provided  for  all  dur- 
ing the  stay  he  made  there,  this  untiring  man, 
whose  zeal  for  the  establishment  of  the  colony 
continually  increased,  returned  to  France  in  1614, 
drew  up  a  plan  and  charts  of  Canada,  and  invited 
many  families,  who  resolved  to  cross  over  in  the 
first  vessels,  for  which  he  was  making  all  necessarv 
preparations.  But  to  lay  a  more  solid  foundation 
he  proposed  two  things  :  first,  to  form  a  regular  com- 
pany supported  by  the  king's  authority  ;  and,  second, 
to  obtain  missionaries  full  of  zeal  for  the  salvation  of 
souls,   disinterested   men,   who,   like   the    apostles, 


70  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

would  seek  only  and  purely  God's  glory,  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen,  the  establishment  and  spirit- 
ual consolation  of  the  colony,  without  any  temporal 
return  for  themselves. 

For  this  purpose  he  treated  with  the  merchants 
of  Normandy  and  St.  Malo,  who  till  then  had  pre- 
tended to  have  the  liberty  and  right  to  trade  with 
the  Indians  for  furs.  He  showed  them  so  clearly 
the  advantages  that  they  would  derive  from  associa- 
tion that  both  parties  repaired  to  Paris  and  formed 
a  company  for  eleven  years.  It  was  approved  by 
the  Prince  de  Conde,  then  viceroy  of  Canada, 
authorized  by  royal  letters-patent,  and  ratified  by 
the  associates,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  merchants 
of  La  Rochelle,  who  would  not  enter. 

After  forming  this  company  for  temporal  com- 
merce there  remained  now  only  to  provide  for  the 
spiritual  administration  by  the  establishment  of 
missions.  He  first  consulted  Monsieur  Houel,  the 
king's  secretary  and  comptroller-general  of  the 
Salt-works  of  Brouage.  Both  opened  their  design 
to  the  Rev.  Father  Bernard  du  Verger,  Provincial 


OF  THE  FAITH.  71 

of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  a  religious  of  great 
virtue  and  rare  talent,  powerful  in  word  and  work. 
This  holy  man  received  the  proposition  the  more 
joyfully  as  he  was  all  full  of  fire  and  zeal  for  pro- 
moting God's  glory  and  the  salvation  of  souls.''" 

For  this  purpose  he  sent  two  of  his  religious  to 
Paris,  addressing  them  to  the  nuncio  of  Pope  Paul 
V.  in  France. f  His  eminence  informed  them 
that  he  had  no  authority  to  give  them  faculties, 
and  that  they  would  have  to  write  to  Rome  to  the 
procurator  oY  the  order,  in  order  to  obtain  them  of 
His  Holiness,  All  these  difficulties,  joined  to  many 
others  which  these  good  religious  had  not  foreseen, 
obliged  them  to  defer  the  project  of  a  mission  to  a 
more  favorable  time. 

Sieurs  Champlain  and  Houel  were  greatly  disap- 
pointed, the  more  so  as  they  had  applied  to  the 
Recollects  only  on  account  of  the  renown  then 
made  in  the  world  by  the  great  progress  of  the 
Gospel  and  the  prodigious   number  of  conversions 

*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  iv.  pp.  3,  4. 
f  Robert  Ubaldini,  afterwards  cardinal. 


72  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

which  God  operated  by  their  ministry  in  Eastern 
America,  where,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
most  ilhistrious  Kumeraga,''^'  first  archbishop  of 
Mexico,  our  fathers  had  baptized  in  that  New 
World  more  than  nine  hundred  thousand  souls, 
totally  destroyed  fifty  idolatrous  temples,  broken 
and  burnt  to  ashes  more  than  twenty  thousand 
idols,  consecrated  to  the  glory  of  God  countless 
chapels,  oratories,  and  churches,  abolished  the 
abominable  custom  of  those  savages  who  every 
year  immolated  to  their  false  god  twenty  thousand 
hearts  of  their  little  children.  These  gentlemen  did 
not  lose  hope,  and  resolved  to  have  our  Fathers  at 
any  price.  Sieur  Houel  applied  to  the  Rev.  Father 
James  Garnier  de  Chapouin,  first  provincial  of  the 
Recollects  of  the  province  of  St.  Denis.  He  re- 
ceived the  proposition,  and  regarded  this  mission, 
offered  to  him  at  the  outset  of  his  holy  reform, 
with  the  same  eye  that  St.  Francis  had  regarded 
the  conversion  of  the  whole  world  at  the  founda- 
tion of  his  order ;  he  conferred  on  this  great  and 

*  Juan  de  Zumdrraga,  a  Franciscan. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  "^Z 

noble  enterprise  with  the  Princes  of  Conde,  the 
cardinals  and  bishops  then  at  Paris  for  the  assembly 
of  the  States. 

The  resolution  of  this  great  religious  was  gene- 
rally approved  by  all  these  lords,  who,  to  share  in 
the  enterprise  and  the  conversion  of  these  heathen, 
gave  the  Sieur  de  Champlain  fifteen  hundred  livres 
to  purchase  portable  chapels,  church  vestments,  and 
other  necessary  articles  for  beginning  a  mission.* 
His  majesty  gave  him  his  letters-patent,  the  nuncio 
irranted  him  the  mission  according"  to  the  orders 
which  he  received  from  the  Pope  while  awaiting  the 
brief  which  His  Holiness  issued  under  date  of  March 
20,  16 1 8.  The  merchants  all  generously  offered  to 
feed,  support,  and  carry  free  every  year,  to  the  num- 
ber of  six,  the  Recollects  who  might  pass  to  Canada 
to  keep  up  the  mission.  All  things  being  thus 
disposed,  the  Reverend  Father  Provincial  thought 
now  only  of  offering  his  enterprise  to  God  and 
asking  his  light  in  the  choice  of  men  whom  he 
should  appoint  to  this  great  work,  to  be  the  first 

*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  iv.  pp.  5,  6. 


74  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

apostles  of  New  France.  The  following  are 
copies  of  the  brief  of  His  Holiness  and  the  king's 
letters-patent,  taken  from  the  originals  : 

BRIEF  OF  PAUL  V. 

for  the  Canada    mission,  given  by  Cardinal  Bcntivoglio 

to  the  Recollect  Fathers  of  the  province 

of  St.  Denis  in  France. 

Guido  Bentivoglio,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  of  the  Holy 
Apostolic  See,  Archbishop  of  Rhodes,  on  behalf  of  our  Holy 
Father  Pope  Paul  V.,  Apostolic  Nuncio,  etc.,  to  the  Most 
Christian  King  of  France  and  Navarre,  Louis  XIII.,  and  spe- 
cially chosen,  commissioned,  and  deputed  by  our  Holy  Father 
Paul  V.  as  judge  and  commissary  in  these  quarters,  to  our 
well-beloved  the  venerable  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  priest, 
professed  religious  Recollect  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis, 
province  of  Paris  or  St.  Denis,  and  to  all  other  fathers  and 
brothers  Recollects  professed  of  said  order  of  St.  Francis, 
raised  to  the  holy  order  of  priesthood  and  confessors  ap- 
proved by  the  ordinary,  who  are  on  the  point  of  receiving 
a  mission  and  obedience  from  their  Father-Provincial  to 
proceed  with  you  to  some  heathen  and  infidel  countries  to 
effect  their  conversion  to  the  true  faith  and  Catholic  religion, 
or  whom  you  may  take  with  the  leave  and  license  of  said  Fa- 
ther-Provincial, health  and  sincere  love  in  our  Lord.  Know 
that  heretofore  the   Most    Rev.  Archbishop  Count  of  Lyons, 


OF  THE  FAITH.  75 

ambassador  of  his  Most  Christian  Majesty  to  our  Holy  Father, 
having  addressed  the  ApostoHc  See  and  petitioned  His  Ho- 
liness that,  with  the  good  pleasure  of  his  said  Holiness 
and  the  conditions  hereinafter  written,  it  should  be  lawful  for 
the  Rev.  Father-Provincial  of  the  Recollect  religious  of  the 
said  order  of  St.  Francis  to  send  some  religious  of  the  same 
order  and  of  his  province  of  St.  Denis  in  France  who  should 
be  fit  and  proper  men  to  preach  and  extend  the  Catholic  faith 
in  heathen  lands  and  regions;  and  inasmuch  as  the  work 
was  in  itself  meritorious,  and  it  had  pleased  His  Holiness  to 
give  us  full  power  to  grant  the  necessary  and  competent 
means  for  the  execution  of  all  the  above,  for  the  causes  and 
reasons  above  alleged,  by  apostolic  authority  and  commission, 
we  have  given  and  granted,  and  do  give  and  grant,  to  your 
reverend  Father-Provincial,  and  you  who  have  been  named, 
chosen,  and  deputed  by  him,  the  following  faculties  and 
privileges,  which  you  may  use  and  exercise,  in  case  no  one 
is  found  in  those  parts  who  lias  similar  ones  the  time  whereof 
has  not  expired,  and  so  long  only  as  you.  Friar  Joseph  Caron, 
and  your  associates  remain  in  those  heathen  and  infidel  coun- 
tries ;  and  the  said  privileges  are  of  tenor,  force,  and  effect 
following,  to  wit :  to  receive  all  children  born  of  believing 
and  unbelieving  parents,  and  all  others  of  wh:it  condition  so- 
ever they  maybe,  who,  after  promising  to  keep  and  observe 
all  that  should  be  kept  and  observed  by  the  faithful,  will  em- 
brace the  truth  of  the  Christian  and  Catholic  faith  ;  to  baptize 
even  outside  of  the  churches  in  case  of  necessity;  to  hear  con- 
fessions of  penitents,  and,  after  diligently  hearing  them,  im- 
posed a  salutary  penance  according  to  their  faults,  and  en- 
joined what  should  be   enjoined   in  conscience,  to  loose  and 


76  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

absolve  them  from  all  sentences  of  excommunication  and 
other  ecclesiastical  pains  and  censures,  as  also  from  all  sorts 
of  crimes,  excesses,  and  delicts,  even  those  reserved  to  the 
Apostolic  See  and  those  contained  in  the  letters  usually  read 
on  Maundy  Thursday  ;  to  administer  the  sacraments  of  the 
Eucharist,  Marriage,  and  Extreme  Unction  ;  to  bless  all  kinds 
of  vestments,  vessels,  and  ornaments  where  holy  unction  is 
not  necessary;  to  dispense  gratuitously  new  converts  who 
have  contracted  or  would  contract  marriage  in  any  degree 
of  consanguinity  or  affinity  whatever,  except  the  first  or 
second  or  between  ascending  and  descending,  provided  the 
women  liave  not  carried  off  by  force,  and  the  two  parties 
who  have  contracted  or  would  contract  be  Catholics,  and 
there  be  just  cause  as  well  for  the  marriages  already  con- 
tracted as  for  those  desired  to  be  contracted  ;  to  declare  and 
pronounce  the  children  born  and  issued  of  such  marriages 
legitimate  ;  to  have  an  altar  which  you  may  decently  carry, 
and  thereon  to  celebrate  in  decent  and  becoming  places  where 
the  convenience  of  a  church  shall  be  wanting. 

In  faith  and  testimony  whereof,  we  have  commanded  these 
present  letters,  subscribed  and  signed  by  our  hand,  to  be 
dated,  signed,  and  sealed  with  our  seal  by  our  well-beloved 
Louis  Savanutius,  our  auditor  and  doctor  in  both  laws,  and 
Messire  Thomas  Gallot,  clerk  at  Paris,  licentiate  in  canon 
and  civil  law,  notary  public,  sworn  as  well  by  apostolic  au- 
thority as  by  the  venerable  Episcopal  Court  of  Paris  and 
according  to  the  edict  of  the  king,  enrolled  and  matricu- 
lated on  the  registers  of  the  diocese  and  court  of  the  Par- 
liament of  Paris,  residing  in  said  Paris,  New  Notre  Dame 
Street,  and  our  notary  in  this  quarter. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  ^^ 

Given  at  Paris  the  year  of  our  Lord  1618,  the  2otli  of  the 
month  of  March.  ^ 

(Signed)  G.,  ARCHER  OF  RHODES, 

Apostolic  Nuncio. 

And  lower  down — 

By  order  of  the  said  Most  Illustrious  and  Rev.  Lord 
Nuncio  Apostolic  and  delegated  Commissary. 

THOMAS   GALLOT, 

Notary  Public  as  aforesaid. 
LOUIS  SAVANUTIUS, 

AuditorJ^ 

ROYAL  PATENT  FOR  THE  RECOLLECTS. 

Louis,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and  Navarre, 
to  all  who  shall  see  these  presents,  greeting  :  The  late  kings, 
our  predecessors,  have  acquired  the  title  and  quality  of  Most 
Christian  by  procuring  the  exaltation  of  the  Holy,  Catholic, 
Apostolic,  and  Roman  faith,  defending  it  from  all  oppres- 
sions, maintaining  ecclesiastics  in  their  rights,  and  receiving 
in  their  kingdom  all  religious  orders  who  apply  in  purity  of 
life  to  instruct  the  people  and  teach  them  by  word  and  example  ; 
and  as  we  are  also  filled  with  an  extreme  desire  of  maintaining 
and  preserving  said  title  of  Most  Christian  as  the  richest  leaf 
of  our  crown,  and  by  which  we  hope  that  all  our  actions  will 
prosper,  wishing  not  only  to  imitate  wherever  possible  our 
said  predecessors,  but  even  to  surpass  them   in  the   desire  of 

*  The  original  is  in  the  Archives  de  Versailles — Recollets.  Faillon, 
•'  Hist,  de  la  Colonie,"  i.  p.  146. 


78  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

establishing  the  said  Catholic  faith  and  announcing  it  in  dis- 
tant savage  and  foreign  lands  where  the  holy  name  of  God  is 
not  invoked.  Our  dear  and  devoted  petitioner,  the  Father- 
Provincial  of  the  province  of  St.  Denis  in  France,  of  the  relig- 
ious of  St.  Francis  of  the  strict  observance,  commonly  called 
Recollects,  has  heretofore,  seconding  our  desires,  offered  to 
send  to  the  countries  of  Canada  religious  of  the  said  order  to 
preach  the  holy  Gospel  there,  and  bring  to  the  Holy  Faith  the 
souls  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  country,  who  are  erring 
and  wandering  in  their  conceits,  having  no  knowledge  of  the 
true  God  ;  and  for  this  purpose  having  sent  a  number  there, 
their  labor,  by  the  grace  of  God,  has  not  been  useless ; 
on  the  contrary,  some  of  the  said  inhabitants  of  Canada,  ac- 
knowledging their  former  error,  have  ardently  embraced  the 
Holy  Faith  and  received  holy  baptism,  tidings  as  agreeable  as 
any  that  can  reach  us  ;  and  it  now  remains  only  to  confirm  what 
has  been  begun  by  the  said  religious,  which  cannot  be  better 
done  than  by  permitting  said  religious  both  to  continue  to 
dwell  in  said  country  and  to  build  there  as  many  convents  as 
they  shall  deem  necessary,  according  to  the  time  and  place, 
all  which  convents,  monasteries,  and  religious  shall  be  under 
the  obedience  of  the  said  Father-Provincial  of  the  province 
of  St.  Denis  in  France,  and  no  other,  and  this  to  prevent  all 
confusion  that  might  arise  if  each  religious,  at  his  first  impulse, 
was  induced  to  pass  to  the  said  land  of  Canada.  Desiring  to 
remedy  this  in  future,  we  have  said  and  declared,  and  by 
these  presents  signed  by  our  hand  do  say  and  declare,  our  in- 
tention and  will  to  be  that  the  Father-Provincial  of  the  said 
province  of  St.  Denis  in  France  alone  may,  and  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  him  to,  send  to  said  country  of  Canada  as  many  of 


OF  THE  FAITH.  79 

his  Rtcollect  religious  as  he  shall  deem  necessary,  and  when 
he  deems  pro[jer  ;  and  we  have  permitted,  and  by  these  said 
presents  permit,  the  said  Recollect  religious  to  inhabit  said 
country  of  Canada,  and  build  and  construct  there  one  or 
many  convents  and  monasteries,  as  ihey  shall  deem  proper  ; 
and  to  which  country  of  Canada  no  other  Recollect  religious 
shall  have  power  to  go,  except  by  obedience  given  by  said 
provincial  of  the  said  province  of  St.  Denis  in  France,  and 
this  to  avoid  all  dissension  that  might  arise,  forbidding  all 
port  and  harbor  masters  to  permit  any  religious  of  the  order 
of  St.  Francis  to  embark,  in  order  to  pass  and  go  to  said 
country  of  Canada,  except  by  the  obedience  of  the  said  Provin- 
cial and  of  the  one  whom  he  shall  name  as  superior  ;  and  show- 
ing moie  particularly  our  affection  towards  said  religious,  we 
hereby  take  under  our  protection  and  safeguard  all  their  con- 
vents and  monasteries  together.  We  hereby  command  our 
dear  and  well-beloved  cousin,  the  Sieur  de  Montmorency,  Ad- 
miral of  France,  or  his  lieutenants  in  all  the  ports  and  har- 
bors of  this  our  kingdom,  and  all  our  other  justiciaries  and 
officers  to  whom  it  may  belong,  to  cause  the  contents  hereof 
to  be  kept  and  observed,  point  by  point,  according  to  its  form 
and  tenor,  and  publish  these  presents  in  all  ports,  harbors, 
and  places  of  their  jurisdiction,  without  permitting  it  to  be 
contravened.  "VVe  further  command  our  viceroy  of  Canada, 
his  lieutenants,  and  our  other  officers  in  those  places  to  main- 
tain the  said  Recollect  religious  of  the  said  province  of  St. 
Denis  in  France,  in  said  countr\  ;  not,  however,  authorizing 
them  to  receive  any  who  have  no  obedience  of  the  said  pro- 
vincial of  the  province  of  France  ;  giving,  moreover,  their  care 
to  the  execution  of  this  our   will,  notwithstanding   any  letters 


8o      FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

to  the  contrary,  which  we  have  derogated,  and  by  these  jire- 
sents  do  derogate.      For  such  is  our  pleasure. 

In  witness  whereof  we  have  set  our  seal  to  these  presents. 
Given  at  S.  Germain-en-Laye  the  20th  of  March,  in  the  year 
of  grace  1615,  and  of  our  reign  the  fifth.* 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  12,  17.  He  gives  no  date,  and 
that  here  given  by  Le  Clercq  is  evidently  a  misprint  for  161S,  the  date 
of  the  preceding  document.  In  March,  1615,  the  Recollects  could  not 
be  spoken  of,  as  in  this  document,  as  having  already  been  sent  there 
and  made  converts. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FIRST  EMBARKATION  OF  THE  MISSIONARIES  TO  PLANT 
THE  FAITH   IN  NEW  FRANCE. 


A 


LEARNED  author,  eulogizing  the  religious 
state,  once  said,  with  as  much  truth  as  justice, 


that  there  was  nothing  greater  or  more  glorious 
than  the  conversion  of  the  New  World.  "  Nihil 
prseclarius  aut  gloriosius,  quam  totius  novi  orbis 
conversio,  quae  quantacumque  est  religiosorum  est,"* 
which,  after  the  grace  of  the  Lord,  must  be  attribut- 
ed in  all  its  parts  to  the  apostolic  labors  of  reli- 
gious in  general,  but  especially,  he  says,  to  the  un- 
tiring zeal  of  the  religious  of  the  order  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, who  have  the  honor  of  having  been  the  pio- 
neers in  this  high  and  glorious  enterprise.  "Primos 
omnium  qui  tantam  provinciam  aggressi  sunt  Fran- 
ciscanos    esse    legimus."f     "  Nulli    in    tota    India 

*  Hieron.  Plat.,  lib.  i.,  "  De  Bono  Statu  Rel." 

f  Hieron.  Plat.,  ibidem. 
6 


82  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

erant  religiosi  prteter  eos,  quos  dixi  Franciscanos."* 
So  that,  by  the  account  taken  at  the  General 
Chapter  of  the  order  in  1621,  the  Recollects 
had  then  in  Spanish  America  five  hundred 
convents  established  and  distributed  in  twenty- 
two  provinces  since  Martin  de  Valencia,  one  of 
our  first  reformers,  passed  over  there  with  a  great 
number  of  Recollects  to  cast  the  first  seeds  of 
Christianity.  This  same  glory  is  due  to  them,  and 
no  one  can,  without  injustice,  contest  with  them 
this  illustrious  advantage  of  having  been  the  first 
apostles  of  New  France,  where  they  have  fruitfully 
labored  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians. 

It  is,  then,  in  the  year  16 15  that  we  must  acknow^- 
ledge  the  first  establishment  of  the  faith  in  Canada,f 
wdien  the  father- provincial  of  the  Recollects  of 
Paris  selected  Father  Denis  Jamay  as  first  commis- 
sary of  the  mission,  Father  John  d'Olbeau  as  suc- 
cessor in    case  of  death,  Father  Joseph   le  Caron, 


*  Teresul  (Tuisellini). 

f  This  ignores  the  earlier  labors  of  Messrs.  Flechc,  Aubr}-,  etc.,  sec- 
ular priests,  and  of  the  Jesuits  fn  Acadia. 


OF  THEBFAITH.  83 

and  Brother  Pacificus  du  Plessis  to  lay  the  first 
foundations  of  Christianity  in  New  France,  whither 
they  actually  passed  in  said  year  and  began  this 
great  work,  which  they  have  since  continued  with 
their  brethren  by  indefatigable  labors  and  happy 
progress,  as  will  appear  in  the  sequel."^ 

Here  I  cannot  forbear  making  an  observation  on 
the  year  given  by  the  Abbe  de  la  Roque  as  the  first 
epoch  and  birth  of  the  Church  in  Canada,  when  he 
states  the  first  establishment  to  have  been  made  in 
1637  and  1638  by  the  reverend  Jesuit  fathers. 

I  have  read  what  he  has  written  in  his  "  Memoirs 
of  the  Church  "  (printed  at  Paris  in  1690)  not  only 
with  pleasure,  but  with  a  singular  esteem  for  the 
author's  merit;  yet,  as  he  himself  avows,  he  wrote 
only  on  memoirs  given  him,  and  on  the  account  of 
persons  whom  he  consulted  orally  at  Paris.  I  can- 
not help  telling  him,  with  a  respectful  liberty,  either 
that  his  memoirs  are  untrustworthy  or  that  the 
persons  whom  he  consulted  disguised  the  truth  on 


■"  Laverdiere's    Champlain,    1619,    iv.    p.    7  ;  Sagard,  "  Ilistoire  du 
Canada,"  p.  11. 


84  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

this  point  of  history  which  I  here  treat  of.  The 
reverend  Jesuit  fathers  themselves  would  agree  with 
us  and  admit  it  in  the  country  where  we  labor  with 
them.  The  people  now  in  Canada  render  public 
testimony  ;  the  most  faithful  historians  relate  it  ; 
in  fine,  you  may  still  see  in  this  New  World  the 
remains  of  our  old  establishments,  many  of  which 
have  been  repaired  since  our  return,  without  men- 
tioning other  authentic  proofs  which  we  will  set 
forth  in  the  course  of  this  work. 

It  was,  then,  in  1615,  on  the  24th  of  April, 
about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  that  the  first 
four  Recollect  missionaries,  whom  we  have  named 
above,  embarked  at  Honfleurs.  After  a  voyage  of 
thirty-one  days  they  arrived  safely  at  Tadoussac  on 
the  25th  of  May,*  a  day  consecrated  to  the  festival 
of  the  translation  of  our  Seraphic  Father  St.  Fran- 
cis. We  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  with  what 
ardor  these  new  missionaries  were  inflamed  on  en- 


*They  came  on  the  Si.  Eticnuc,  of  350  tons,  commanded  by  the 
Sieur  de  Pontgrave.  Laverdiere's  Cliamplain.  \(n^).  p.  (j  ;  Sagaid, 
"Hist,  du  Canada,"  p.  22. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  85 

taring  that  vast  country,  and  with  what  fire  the 
unction  of  the  Spirit  pervaded  them  at  that  first 
moment.  We  may  say  that,  in  the  extreme  desire 
of  gaining  to  Christ  all  the  savages  of  the  New 
World,  their  hearts  became  by  inclination  as  great 
as  all  Canada,  grace  there  producing  the  same  effect 
as  in  that  of  St.  Paul,  which,  in  the  terms  of  St. 
John  Chrysostom,  became  by  zeal  and  charity  as 
great  as  the  universe  :  "  Non  erraveris,  si  cor  Pauli, 
cor  totius  orbis  dixeris." 

After  spending  two  days  at  Tadoussac  the  Rev. 
Father  Commissary  chose  Father  John  d'Olbeau 
to  go  on  to  Quebec  and  prepare  all  things.  The 
Rev.  Father  Commissary  followed  him  a  few  days 
after  with  the  rest  of  his  religious. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FIRST     ESTABLISHMENT     OF     THE      RECOLLECTS THE 

FIRST  MASS    EVER  SAID  IN  CANADA — THE    MISSIONS 
MADE  IMMEDIATELY  AFTER  THEIR  ARRIVAL. 

TIEGINNINGS  are  always  difficult,  and  the 
greater  the  work  the  greater  the  difficulty. 
They  also  meet  stronger  opposition,  especially  in  a 
religious  establishment,  even  when  it  is  proposed 
to  push  them  on  in  a  convenient  country,  where  it 
should  be  easy  to  find  all  that  is  necessary  for  this 
design. 

It  is  easy,  then,  to  imagine  the  difficulties  which 
our  first  missionaries  in  New  France  sustained 
when  they  settled  in  that  New  World  where  there 
were  only  woods,  forests,  thorns,  and  brambles ; 
where  all  was  to  be  cleared  and  the  very  neces- 
saries of  life  were  usually  wanting.  But  at  last, 
animated  and  strengthened  within  by  the  same 
Spirit  which   had  called   them   thither    to    be    the 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.      87 

corner-Stones  of  Christianity,  they  surmounted,  with 
the  help  of  Heaven,  all  these  obstacles. 

Father  John  Dalbeau,  having  arrived  at  Quebec, 
had  there,  in  concert  with  Monsieur  de  Champlain, 
traced  the  plan  of  our  first  establishment,  a  little 
chapel  and  a  house  to  shelter  the  religious,  on  the 
very  spot  where  the  lower  town  is  now.  The  whole 
was  soon  ready,  for  there  was  nothing  but  what 
was  most  simple  and  conformable  to  evangelical 
poverty.  Father  Denis,  the  superior,  had  merely 
passed  by  Quebec,  and  had  set  out  at  the  same  time 
for  Three  Rivers  with  Father  Joseph  le  Caron, 
leaving  to  Father  John  d'Olbeau  the  charge  of  the 
work,  which  being  finished,  and  the  chapel  in  a  fit 
state,  he  had,  on  the  25th  of  June,  161 5,  the  privi- 
lege of  celebrating  there  the  first  Mass  ever  said  in 
Canada.* 

*  This  point  is  in  debate  among  Canadian  scholars.  Mass  was  evi- 
dently said  in  Canada  in  Cartier's  time,  on  St.  Barnabas's  da}-,  1534,  at 
Brest  C  Brief  Discours,"  Paris,  1865,  p.  25),  and  in  February,  1536,  at 
Quebec  ("  Brief  Recit,"  p.  35).  Even  as  to  the  first  Mass  b}-  the  Recol- 
lects there  is  a  question.  The  '"  Memoirc  faict  en  1637  pour  I'alfaire 
des  Peres  Recollectz,"  Abeille  vii.  No.  25;  Margry,  "  Decouvertes,"  i.  p. 
3,  states  that  the  first  Mass  was  said  at  Riviere  des  Prairies  (see  Laver- 


55  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Nothing  was  wanting  to  make  this  action  solemn^ 
as  far  as  the  simplicity  of  this  Httle  band  of  a  rising 
colony  permitted.  The  celebrant  and  his  congrega- 
tion were  all  bathed  in  tears  (by  an  effect  of  inte- 
rior consolation  which  God  infused  into  their  souls) 
to  see  for  the  first  time  descending  in  those  before 
unknown  lands,  under  the  sacramental  species,  the 
Incarnate  Word  and  God.  Having  prepared  by 
confession,  they  received  the  Saviour  in  Eucharistic 
Communion;  the  "Te  Deum  "  was  chanted  amid 
the  roar  of  their  little  artillery,  and  amid  the  accla- 
mations of  joy  with  which  that  wilderness  re-echoed 
on  every  side.  One  might  say  it  was  changed  into 
a  paradise,  all  there  invoking  the  King  of  Heaven, 
blessing  his  holy  name,  and  calling  to  their  aid  the 
guardian  angels  of  those  vast  provinces,  in  order  to 
draw  these  nations  more  efficaciously  to  the  know- 
ledsfe  and  adoration  of  the  true  God.*     Thus  wrote 

diere's  Champl.,  1619,  p.  16)  ;  and  though  Champlain  leaves  the  date 
blank,  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  June  24,  and  to  have  preceded 
d'Olbeau's.     But  it  seems  strange   that   they  should  have  let  a  month 
pass  before  saying  Mass  for  the  colonists. 
*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  24-5. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  89 

the  reverend  Father  d'Olbeau  to  a  rehgious,  a  friend 
of  his  : 

"The  affection  which  you  have  for  the  salvation  of  the 
souls  of  this  country  of  New  France,  which  has  made  us  de- 
sire, and  even  seek  in  person  means  of  assisting  them,  obliges 
me  to  give  you  news  of  our  mission.  We  sailed  from  Hon- 
fleur  on  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  April,  and  arrived  May 
25  at  a  port  where  vessels  sailing  here  stop.  This  port  is 
called  Tadoussac  ;  it  is  full  eighty  leagues  up  the  great  river 
of  Canada.  Thirty-five  leagues  above  is  the  French  settle- 
ment, which  1  reached  on  the  second  of  June,  unaccompanied 
by  our  other  religious,  who  came  after  as  they  found  oppor- 
tunity. The  reverend  father-commissary  and  Father  Joseph 
did  not  stop  there,  but  sailed  forty  or  fifty  leagues  along  the 
river,  in  order  to  see  the  goodness  of  the  country  and  to 
see  the  Indians,  who  arrive  there  in  great  numbers  to  trade 
with  the  French.  On  the  25th  of  June,  in  the  absence  of 
the  reverend  father-commissary,  I  celebrated  holy  Mass,  the 
first  that  has  been  said  in  this  country,  whose  inhabitants 
are  truly  savage  in  name  and  fact.  They  have  no  fixed 
abode,  but  cabin  here  and  there  as  they  can  find  game  and 
fish,  their  ordinary  food.  Both  men  and  v\omen  are  dressed 
in  skins  and  always  go  bareheaded,  wear  their  hair  long, 
paint  their  faces  black  and  red,  are  generally  of  good  sta- 
ture. As  to  mind  I  cannot  speak  positively,  having  thus 
far  conferred  only  with  a  few  individuals.  Thus  far  the  tem- 
perature of  the  II ir  lias  seemed  to  me  like  that  of  France. 
The  land  appears  good,  but  we  must  winter  here  to  judge.  I 
would  write  you  more  did   I   not  believe  tliat  the  reverend 


90  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

father-commissary  has  written  you  amply  about  alL  Since 
we  have  been  on  land  I  have  been  almost  always  alone  with 
Brother  Pacificus.  Next  year,  when  we  have  a  better  know- 
ledge, we  shall  write  you  at  greater  length. 

"  I  commend  myself  affectionately  to  the  prayers  of  all  our 
Fathers  and  Brothers,  ever  remaining,  your  very  humble  and 
very  affectionate  servant, 

"FRIAR  JOHN  D'OLBEAU. 

"  Quebec,  in  New  France,  July  20,  1615." 

This  letter  is  written  to  his  friend,  F.  Didacus 
David. 

Meanwhile  the  father-commissary  came  down 
from  Three  Rivers,  where  he  left  Father  Joseph 
le  Caron.  The  latter  remained  there  with  the 
French  either  to  administer  the  sacraments  or  to 
learn  the  manners  and  language  of  the  Indians, 
in  order  to  be  able  to  satisfy  his  passionate  desire 
of  announcing  the  Gospel  to  them.  By  the  help 
of  the  French  and  Indians  he  built  a  house  and 
chapel  there  to  begin .  a  sedentary  mission  which 
Father  Denis  Jamay,  before  his  departure,  had 
ordered  him  to  establish.  He  erected  an  altar 
there,  adorned  according  to  the  poverty  of  a  wild 
and  savage  place.     He  had  the  honor  of  celebrat- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  91 

ing  Holy  Mass  there  July  26,  161 5,  with  a  sen- 
sible devotion.  He  had  arranged  all  things  for 
a  solid  mission,  and  would  have  wished  to  remain 
permanently.  The  savages  even  endeavored  to 
keep  him  ;  he  left  them  two  Frenchmen  for  their 
spiritual  consolation,  and  as  the  reverend  father- 
commissary  undertook  to  extend  his  care  to  that 
mission,  Father  Joseph  left  Three  Rivers  and  de- 
scended to  Quebec,  whither  his  superior  sum- 
moned him,  and  his  brethren  awaited  him  to  con- 
cert together  on  the  knowledge  they  had  acquired 
of  the  country,  and  agree  upon  the  fittest  means 
of  advancing  God's  glory.''" 

While  at  Quebec  they  had  many  conferences 
with  Monsieur  de  Champlain  and  the  most  intelli- 

*  This  does  not  agree  with  Champlain,  who  sa)^s  that  he  learned  on 
the  8th  of  July  that  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  had  set  out  from  the 
Riviere  dcs  Prairies  for  the  Huron  countr}',  and  of  course  could  not 
have  been  at  Three  Rivers  on  the  26th.  Laverdiere  (Champ.,  1619,  p. 
18)  thinks  that  Father  Denis  Jamay,  who  was  then  descending  the 
river,  stopped  at  Three  Rivers.  Suite,  "  Histoire  des  Trois  Rivieres,"  p. 
35,  takes  the  same  view.  Father  le  Caron  stopped  on  his  wa}^  down,  June 
15,  1616,  and  remained  till  the  trade  closed,  Jul}'  11,  but  he  was  on  his 
way  to  France  July  26.  Yet  it  seems  probable  that  what  Le  Clercq 
states  occurred  at  this  time.    (See  Suite,  p.  37.) 


92  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

gent  Frenchmen,  who  unanimously,  after  frequently 
invoking  the  aid  of  Heaven,  made  a  kind  of  capi- 
tulary assembly,  a  little  conclave,  where,  after  the 
example  of  the  disciples  of  the  Son  of  God  upon 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  these  new  apostles 
had  to  divide  among  them  this  vast  country  and 
this  New  World,  which  they  were  going  to  subdue 
to  the  empire  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  may,  with  some 
sort  of  analogy,  apply  to  this  little  troop  what  St. 
John  Chrysostom  applies  to  the  great  St.  Paul, 
"  parva  machina  gravida  mundo,"  like  the  machine 
of  the  great  Archimedes,  which  in  idea  and  zeal 
bore  this  new  Christian  world. 

The  result  of  this  assembly,  and  the  division  made, 
were  approved  by  the  governor.  The  reverend  fa- 
ther-commissary remained  at  Quebec,  as  the  centre 
of  the  country,  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  the 
French  in  the  colony  and  to  form  a  mission  for  the 
Indians ;  to  extend  his  solicitude  as  far  as  Three 
Rivers,  and  establish  others  further  down  the  river, 
over  which  he  might  watch.  Father  John  d'Olbeau 
was  selected  for  the  Montagnais;  Tadoussac  being 


OF  THE  FAITH.  93 

named  as  his  post,  whence  he  should  extend  to  the 
end  and  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  Father 
Joseph  le  Caron  had  as  his  share  the  Hurons 
and  other  Western  tribes  ascending  the  river. 

Father  John  d'Olbeau  accordingly  left  Quebec 
the  2d  of  December  in  the  same  year,  to  proceed 
to  the  spot  appointed  for  his  Montagnais  district, 
in  order  to  learn  their  language  and  be  able  to 
labor  seriously  for  their  conversion.  We  cannot 
express  the  inward  joy  of  this  all-seraphic  man 
wdien  he  beheld  himself  at  last  able  to  show  God, 
as  St.  Paul  had  done,  that  he  had  no  other  am- 
bition than  that  of  enlarging  the  kingdom  of  Je- 
sus Christ.  He  devoted  himself  to  it  during  the 
winter  with  unwearied  zeal,  and  devoured  with 
pleasure  all  difficulties  found  in  familiarizing  one's 
self  in  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  the  language 
of  these  barbarians,  of  which  in  a  little  while  he 
learnt  the  elements.  He  built  a  small  hut  there, 
in  which  he  arranged  a  chapel  in  the  form  of  a 
cabin,  to  assemble  the  French  and  Indians  for  in- 
struction and   pra)xr ;    all  was  neat,  though   poor. 


94  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

During  the  winter  he  endeavored  to  test  the  soil  of 
the  country,  the  natural  temper  and  disposition  of 
the  Montagnais  Indians;  and  as  this  nation  is  al- 
most always  errant  and  vagabond,  he  underwent 
great  hardships  in  seeking  them  and  visiting  them 
in  all  the  principal  places  where  they  had  assem- 
bled. He  even  went  as  far  as  the  Bersiamites, 
Papanachois  Eskimaux,  and  other  savages,  up  to 
and  beyond  the  Seven  Islands,  everywhere  planting 
the  sign  of  salvation,  so  that  many  years  after  there 
were  found,  in  many  spots,  vestiges  and  marks  of 
this  course  and  of  the  zeal  of  this  first  missionary. 

After  this  discovery,  in  which  he  had  acquired 
much  information  and  opened  the  way  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  missions,  he  had  to  return  to  Que- 
bec to  report  to  his  superior.* 

Meanwhile  the  reverend  Father  Joseph  le  Caron 
had  set  out  the  preceding  autumn  f  in  the  com- 
pany's barks  which  went  to  Three  Rivers,  and  had 
thence  advanced  to  the  Hurons  and  other  nations 
five    or   six   hundred    leagues  further  inland,   with 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  26-7.  f  Summer. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  95 

Indians  who  had  come  to  trade,  and  twelve 
Frenchmen  whom  Monsieur  de  Champlain  gave 
to  the  Flurons  to  defend  them  against  their  ene- 
mies." It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  hardships 
which  this  good  father  underwent  during  this 
painful  voyage  ;  now  amid  the  boiling  whirlpools, 
the  currents,  the  rapids  and  waterfalls,  capable  of 
appalling  the  most  intrepid  ;  now  bearing  the  in- 
supportable annoyance  of  the  countless  mosqui- 
toes and  gnats,  which  gave  him  no  rest  by  day 
or  night.     He  WTote  thus  to  one  of  his  friends : 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  t-^ll  you  the  fatigue  I  have  suf- 
fered, liaving  been  obliged  to  have  my  paddle  in  hand  all  day 
long  and  row  with  all  my  strength  with  the  Indians.  I  have 
more  than  a  hundred  times  walked  in  the  rivers  over  the 
sharp  rocks,  whicli  cut  my  feet,  in  the  mud,  in  the  woods, 
where  I  carried  the  canoe  and  my  little  baggage,  in  order  to 
avoid  the  rapids  and  frightful  waterfalls.  I  say  nothing  of 
the  painful  fast  which  beset  us,  having  only  a  little  sagamity, 
which  is  a  kind  of  pulmentum  composed  of  water  and  the 
meal  of  Indian  corn,  a  small  quantity  of  which  is  dealt  out  to 
us  morning  and  evening.  Yet  I  must  avow  that  amid  my 
pains  I  felt  much  consolation.  For  alas!  when  we  see  such 
a  great  number  of  infidels,  and  nothing  but  a  drop  of  water  is 

*  The  men  went  before  Champlain  came  up.    Champlain,  1619,  p.  18. 


96  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

needed  to  make  them  children  of  God,  one  feels  an  ardor 
which  I  cannot  express  to  labor  for  their  conversion  and  to 
sacrifice  for  it  one's  repose  and  life." 

This  zealous  missionary  had  appeared  in  the 
country  of  the  Hurons,  who  had  received  him  with 
all  the  mildness  and  friendship  which  they  usually 
show  their  guests.  This  country  is  not  of  great 
extent,  according  to  the  description  given  by  this 
good  father.  It  can  be  easily  traversed  in  five  or 
six  days'  time.  The  climate  is  very  agreeable — 
much  more  moderate  than  that  of  Quebec.  The 
ground,  though  sandy  in  many  parts,  is  fertile  and 
produces  in  abundance  Indian  corn,  beans,  and 
pumpkins.  Even  French  wheat  would  doubtless 
come  to  perfect  maturity.  This  country  is  sur- 
rounded and  intersected  by  very  fine  lakes;  the 
most  important  of  these,  which  is  on  their  north,  is 
called  from  its  size  "Mer  douce" — "Freshwater 
sea."* 

There  are  eighteen  f  towns,  comprising  about  ten 

*  Lake    Huron.      Compare     Champlain's    description,    "Voyage," 
1619,  p.  30  ;  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  243  ;   "  Grand  Voyage,"  p.  113. 
\  Sagard  ("  Grand  Voyage,"  p.  115;  "  Histoire,"  p.  247),  a  few  years 


OF  THE  FAITH.  97 

thousand  souls,  under  one  same  language,  which  is 
common  to  ten  or  twelve  other  nations,  all  seden- 
tary and  populous.  The  most  famous  of  their  vil- 
lages is  called  Carragouha,*  which  is  defended  and 
surrounded  by  a  triple  palisade,  thirty-six  feet  high, 
to  defend  themselves  against  their  enemies. 

It  was  in  this  village  that  the  Hurons,  to  show 
Father  Joseph  the  joy  which  they  felt  at  his  com- 
ing, offered  to  lodge  him  in  their  common  cabins. 
He  represented  to  them  that  he  had  to  negotiate 
with  God  affairs  so  important,  involving  the  salva- 
tion of  their  whole  nation,  that  they  deserved  to  be 
treated  with  more  respect,  in  solitude  and  retreat,  far 
from  the  tumult  and  trouble  of  their  families.  They 
hearkened  to  his  remonstrance,  and  with  poles  and 
bark  built  him  a  cabin  apart  from  the  village. 
Here  he  raised  an  altar  to  offer  God  the  holy 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass  and  perform  his  spiritual 
exercises.       In   these  places   the    Indians  went    to 

later,  says  twent}'  to  twenty-five  towns  containing  thirty  to  forty  thou- 
sand souls. 

*  This   town  v/as    not    far  from    Thunder    Bay.      See    Laverdifere's 
Champlain,   1619,  p.  28. 
7 


98  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

visit  him  to  be  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  Chris- 
tianity and  learn  of  him  how  to  pray  to  God. 

Soon  after  his  arrival  the  father  had  the  conso- 
lation of  embracing  there  Monsieur  de  Champlain, 
who  had  followed  him  closely  with  two  French- 
men and  seven  Indians,  whom  he  had  distributed 
in  two  canoes,  in  order  to  go  to  war  against  the 
Iroquois.  He  arrived  at  the  Huron  country  soon 
enough  to  hear  the  first  Mass  which  Father  Joseph 
had  the  consolation  of  celebrating  there*  and 
planting,  amid  the  noise  of  their  muskets,  the  sign 
of  our  salvation  amid  the  acts  of  thanks  which 
they  offered  God  by  a  "  Te  Deum  "  solemnly  chant- 
ed for  the  first  time  in  that  barbarous  country. 

Meanwhile  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  had 
agreed  to  accompany  our  allies  the  Hurons  in  war 
against  the  Iroquois,  only  in  the  hope  of  thus  secur- 
ing their  friendship  and  more  easily  pursuing  his  glo- 
rious discoveries,  proceeded  to  visit  all  the  Huron 


*  This  was  August  12,  1615.  Lavcrdiere's  Champlain,  i6ig,  p.  29. 
The  "  Memoire  des  Recollectz  "  (Abeille  vii.  25  ;  Margry  i.  p.  3)  says 
August  10. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  99 

villages,  to  plant  the  royal  arms  there  and  contract 
a  strict  alliance  with  them,  arousing  their  youth  to 
go  and  fight  the  common  enemies  of  their  nation 
and  of  the  French.  The  war-kettle  was  raised  ; 
feasts  of  arms  were  made  in  a  full  concourse  of 
captains  and  warriors.  Each  one  here  took  part, 
and,  full  of  the  fire  and  resolution  which  Monsieur 
de  Champlain  had  inspired,  they  fixed  the  ist  of 
September  as  the  day  of  their  departure."^ 

These  savages  do  not  need  as  much  preparation 
nor  munitions  and  supplies  as  Europeans  and  other 
civilized  nations  when  they  prepare  for  war.  They 
carry  no  provisions,  leaving  all  the  care  to  the 
chance  of  being  able  to  hunt  deer,  beaver,  and  all 
sorts  of  game,  which  are  very  abundant  in  these 
parts.  While  the  main  body  of  the  army  advances 
others  are  sent  to  fish,  so  that  nothing  is  wanting, 
especially  in  the  evening,  their  principal  meal-time. 
Thus  our  little  army  of  Hurons  set  out  under  the 
direction  of  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  had  ten 

*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  1619,  p.  34. 


lOO  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

or  [twelve   Frenchmen  with  him  to   command   the 
savages.* 

After  forty-eight  days'f  march,  as  they  approach- 

*  The  route  of  Champlain  in  this  expedition  into  what  is  now  New 
York  State,  and  the  site  of  the  fort  attacked  by  him,  have  led  to  much 
discussion.  Starting  from  Cahiague,  between  the  Severn  and  Matche- 
dash  Bay,  they  passed  through  Lake  Couchichine,  Lake  Simcoe,  Stur- 
geon Lake,  the  Otonabi  and  Trent  to  Lake  Ontario.  Laverdiere's 
Champlain,  1619,  p.  28.  Tliey  then  crossed  the  end  of  Lake  Ontario 
to  Stony  Point,  according"  to  O.  H.  Marshall  and  Laverdiere  ;  to  Hen- 
derson, according  to  Brodhead  ;  to  Little  Sandy  Lake,  according  to 
General  John  S.  Clark.  After  marching  along  the  shore  to  Salmon 
River  (Laverdiere,  Marshall),  or  Salmon  Creek  (Clark),  they  struck 
inland  and  crossed  the  Oswego  at  Fort  Brewerton  (Marshall,  Clark). 
After  this,  but  how  long  is  not  stated,  they  met  a  party  of  the  enemy 
(October  g)  going  to  their  fishing-ground  on  Oneida  Lake,  ten  miles 
from  their  town  ;  and  the  next  day  reached  the  fort  or  town  of 
the  Entouhonorons.  This  General  Clark,  with  no  little  probability 
seeks  to  identify  with  the  remains  of  an  hexagonal  fort  on  Nichols  Pond, 
in  the  town  of  Fenner,  ten  miles  from  the  east  end  of  Oneida  Lake, 
while  Mr.  Marshall  maintains  it  to  have  been  on  Onondaga  Lake.  Con- 
sult "  Expedition  of  the  Sieur  de  Champlain,"  by  O.  H.  Marshall,  Mag. 
of  Am.  Hist.,  Jan.,  1877  ;  General  John  S.  Clark,  Paper  before  the  N.  Y. 
Historical  Society;  notice  on  the  same  in  the  Penn.  Hist.  Mag.,  ii.  p.  103; 
Rew  Mr.  Slafter,  "  Memoir  of  Champlain,"  Prince  ed.,  i.  p.  129  ;  Mr. 
Marshall's  Reply,  Mag.  of  Am.  Hist.,  August,  1878.  Dr.  O'Callaghan, 
N".  V.  Doc.  Hist,,  iii.  p.  10,  and  the  Abbe  Laverdiere  placed  the  fort 
on  Canandaigua  Lake,  but  this  position  is  untenable  ;  Parkman  and 
Slafter  have  adopted  General  Clark's  theory.  Brodhead  adopted  Mr. 
Marshall's  view.    The  Entouhonorons  were  beyond  question  Onondagas 

f  October  9.  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  i6ig,  p.  39.  As  they  set  out 
September  i,  it  was  the  39th. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  lOI 

ed  the  first  Iroquois  town,  they  met  an  advance 
party  of  the  enemy,  eleven  of  whom  our  people 
took  prisoners,  the  rest  being  killed,  scattered,  or 
put  to  flight.  This  defeat  facilitated  the  approach 
to  the  town,  which  they  found  situated  in  a  beauti- 
ful champaigne  on  the  edge  of  a  pond,  encircled 
with  four  rows  ot  palisades  thirty  feet  high,  and 
strengthened  by  large  trees  interlaced  in  each  other, 
above  which  these  savages  had  made  a  kind  of 
way  which  served  as  a  parapet  against  arrow  and 
gun-shots.  They  had  also  formed  and  distributed 
at  intervals  a  number  of  gutters  to  throw  water  and 
put  out  the  fire  in  case  we  attempted  to  burn  their 
palisades. 

On  approaching  this  fortress  our  savages  perceiv- 
ed a  great  number  of  Iroquois,  who  were  gathering 
their  Indian  corn  and  pumpkins,  which  form  their 
only  harvest. 

It  was  impossible  for  Monsieur  de  Champlain  to 
arrest  the  ardor  of  the  Hurons  and  retard  the  exe- 
cution till  the  next  day,  when  success  would  have 
been  easy.      Impatient  to  attack  and  conquer,  feel- 


I02  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

ing  themselves  supported  by  the  French,  they  rais- 
ed their  usual  shouts  and  war-cries,  engaging  in 
combat  with  so  little  order  and  so  much  precipita- 
tion that  they  were  in  danger  of  defeat,  had  not 
Monsieur  de  Champlain  rendered  them  victorious 
by  an  opportune  discharge  of  firearms.  The  noise 
of  this  little  artillery  so  terrified  the  Iroquois  that 
they  retired  to  their  fort,  carrying  all  they  could  of 
their  wounded  and  of  those  killed  in  the  heat  of 
the  fight.  This  victory  was  a  glorious  one  to  the 
Hurons,  who  lost  only  a  single  man  and  had  only 
five  seriously  wounded.  Our  Indians'  irregular  way 
of  fighting  entirely  disconcerted  all  the  measures 
which  Monsieur  de  Champlain  had  formed  for  a 
regular  siege  of  the  place.  With  his  usual  pru- 
dence he  dissembled  his  chagrin,  and  withdrew  the 
Hurons  to  concert  with  them  the  plan  of  a  second 
attack  on  the  following  day. 

It  was  resolved  in  council  to  make  a  cavalier, 
consisting  of  timbers  placed  above  each  other,  and 
on  top  a  kind  of  parapet  to  secure  our  Frenchmen 
from  the  Iroquois'  arrows  ;  that  they  should  bring 


OF  THE  FAITH.  103 

a  quantity  of  dry  wood  to  the  foot  of  the  palisade, 
to  set  fire  to  it  by  trains  of  powder ;  lastly,  to  cor- 
rect the  precipitation  with  which  our  Indians  had 
acted  on  the  last  occasion,  they  promised  to  fol- 
low carefully,  in  the  attack  of  the  place,  the  orders 
of  Monsieur  de  Champlain. 

On  leaving  the  council  the  Indians  labored  stea- 
dily at  the  cavalier,  which  was  finished  in  one 
night.  Three  hundred*  of  the  bravest  and  stout- 
est men  placed  it  amid  a  shower  of  stones  which 
the  enemy  poured  on  them,  and  a  cloud  of  ar- 
rows that  they  darted. 

Without  being  disheartened  at  seeing  many  of 
their  comrades  killed  or  dangerously  wounded 
beside  them,  others  with  equal  fervor  brought 
the  dry  wood  which  they  had  gathered,  set  fire 
to  it ;  but  it  had  no  effect,  because  the  con- 
trary wind  turned  off  the  flames  and  carried 
them  aside ;  besides,  the  Iroquois  cooled  their 
palisades    by  such  torrents  of    water,   which    they 

*  Two  hundred.     Laverdiere's  Champlain,  1619,  p.  43. 


I04  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

poured  by  the  gutters,  that  the  fire  was  soon  ex- 
tinguished. 

Meanwhile  the  French  ascended  the  cavalier, 
from  which  they  fired  incessantly  on  the  enemy, 
who  lost  many ;  they  were  even  obliged  to  descend 
from  their  covered  way  and  hide  in  the  fort.  Vic- 
tory would  have  been  infallible,  if  our  Hurons  had 
not,  contrary  to  their  promise  to  wait  for  the  sig- 
nal and  orders  of  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  resumed 
their  ordinary  precipitation.  They  discharged  all 
their  arrows  above  the  fort,  which  wounded  very 
few  Iroquois ;  so  that  our  Indians,  after  three 
hours'  fight,  getting  disgusted,  lost  all  inclination 
for  a  further  contest,  the  more  so  as  Monsieur  de 
Champlain,  having  been  wounded  by  two  arrows, 
one  in  the  leg  and  the  other  in  the  thigh,  left 
them  without  a  leader. 

Never  was  greater  consternation  seen.  The  In- 
dians at  first  carried  the  captain  and  the  wounded 
to  the  canoes,  and  after  applying  the  first  course  of 
Indian  remedies,  which  are  withal  specific  and  sov- 
ereign,  resumed   the  route  to   their  own   country, 


OF  THE  FAITH.  105 

having,  nevertheless,  left  amid  the  Iroquois  the 
terror  of  their  own  and  the  Frenchmen's  arms. 

On  the  way  Monsieur  de  Champlain  recovered,  as 
much  by  an  effect  of  God's  providence  as  by  the 
help  of  remedies.  After  much  pain  and  hardship 
he  at  last,  on  the  14th  of  January,  arrived  safely  at 
the  famous  village  of  Carragouha,  where  Father 
Joseph  received  him  with  all  imaginable  joy.^ 

Charity  and  the  interests  of  Faith  so  earnestly 
pressed  our  Huron  apostle  that,  after  having  first 
laid  the  foundations  of  this  Church  in  their  country, 
he  left  there  two  or  three  of  the  Frenchmen  he  had 
with  him,  to  continue  the  outline  he  had  traced, 
and  passed  on  with  Monsieur  de  Champlain  to  the 
country  of  the  Indians  called  Petuneux,t  and  seven 
other  neighboring  nations.     This  zealous  mission- 


*  Champlain  (Laverdiere's  edition,  1619,  p.  57)  seems  to  make  them 
meet  on  the  15th.  The  Carantouannais  (Garontawane),  a  tribe  near  the 
Susquehanna,  were  to  have  co-operated  with  the  Hurons,  but  did  not 
come. 

f  Petun  is  old  French  for  tobacco.  These  are  the  Tionontates,  or 
Dinondadies.  They  reached  them  Februarj'  15  (Champlain,  1619,  p. 
57),  though  Laverdiere  thinks  in  Januar)',  as  the  edition  of  1632  has  it. 


lo6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

ary  had  the  consolation  of  suffering  much  there 
for  the  estabhshment  of  Christianity,  as  these  In- 
dians cruelly  ill-treated  him  at  the  instigation  of 
their  Ohi,  or  jugglers,  who  are  the  sorcerers  and 
magicians  of  these  nations. 

After  learning  the  ideas  and  disposition  of  these 
Indians  he  returned  to  his  Huron  village.  This 
expedition  was  not  fruitless  for  God's  glory,  as  he 
baptized  some  children  and  dying  old  men,  for 
whom  he  thus  procured  eternal  salvation. 

Having  returned  to  the  Hurons,  he  spent  the 
rest  of  the  winter  there,  completed  the  acquisition 
of  a  tincture  of  their  language,  and  drew  up  a  pret- 
ty correct  dictionary,  still  to  be  seen  and  preserved 
as  a  relic.  He  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the 
civilization  of  these  Indians.  The  time  had  not 
come  to  effect  great  conversions  there ;  but  they 
were  gradually  prepared  to  receive  gently  the  light 
of  the  Gospel  when  it  should  please  God  to  second, 
by  the  efficacy  of  his  grace,  the  truth  and  the  extent 
of  his  zeal  and  that  of  those  who  should  follow 
him.     Having  then  put  all  things  in  train,   he  set 


OF  THE  FAITH  ro; 

out  from  Carragouha,  and  arrived  at  Three  Rivers 
on  the  15th  of  June,  1616."^^" 

Father  John  d'Olbeau,  some  days  after  his  re- 
turn from  the  Tadoussac  mission  to  Quebec,  had 
proceeded  to  the  same  place  in  the  company's 
barks,  to  visit  it  and  see  the  state  of  the  mission 
which  Father  Joseph  had  projected  the  previous 
year.  A  few  days  later  God  consoled  them  by  the 
arrival  of  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  had  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Lake  of  the  Nepysiriniens.  It  was 
the  trading  time  ;  and  this  over,  they  set  sail  for 
Quebec,  where  the  two  fathers  arrived  f  together 
with  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  and  there  they  found 
the  reverend  Father-Commissary,  who  received  them 
with  joy. 

*  They  set  out  May  20.     Laverdiere's  Champlain,  1619,  p.  102.    Sa- 
gard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  30,  makes  them  reach  Three  Rivers  July  i. 
fjuly  II.     Sagard,  p.  31. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CHAMPLAIN's  voyage  to  FRANCE  WITH  THE  REVE- 
REND FATHER-COMMISSARY  OF  THE  MISSION  TO 
REPRESENT  THE  STATE  OF  ALL  THE  NEW  DISCO- 
VERIES   AND    EFFECT    THEIR    ESTABLISHMENT. 

TN  the  origin  of  the  Church  we  remark  that  the 
apostles,  after  having  made  a  general  and  con- 
fused discovery  of  the  disposition  of  the  nations, 
assembled  to  concert  together  the  means  of  sub- 
jecting the  world  to  the  faith  of  Christ. 

What  our  first  religious  had  already  done  in  one 
year  was  properly  only  a  discovery  of  the  temper  of 
mind  and  customs  of  these  tribes,  the  ways  to 
bring  them  to  the  Gospel,  and  the  difficulties  to 
be  overcome,  having  made  only  a  rough  draft  for 
Christianity  and  a  distant  preparation  for  their 
conversion.  As  yet  it  was  only  a  shapeless  chaos, 
to  be  disentangled  in  time,   so   that,  according  to 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.     109 

the  project  formed  among  them  the  year  before, 
they  should  meet  at  Quebec  this  July  to  make  each 
other  a  faithful  report  of  their  information  and  agree 
on  what  was  to  be  undertaken  for  God's  glory. 
They  invited  Monsieur  de  Champlain  to  be  present 
(knowing  him  to  be  as  zealous  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  faith  as  for  the  temporal  w^eal  of  the 
colony)  and  six  other  well-meaning  persons.  For 
the  good  of  the  country  they  all  unanimously  agreed 
on  the  following  articles,  set  out  more  at  length 
in  our  memoirs  still  extant,  in  order  that  truth, 
which  is  the  soul  of  history,  may  reign  throughout 
this  work.     It  seems,  then,  that  it  was  resolved  : 

"  That  with  regard  to  the  nations  down  the  river  and  those 
of  the  North,  including  the  Montagnais,  Etechemins,  Betsi- 
amites,  and  Papinachois,  the  great  and  little  Esquimaux,  an 
uncultivated,  barren,  mountainous  country  ;  abounding,  how- 
ever, in  all  kinds  of  wild  beasts,  seals,  beaver,  moose,  bear, 
marten,  otter,  lynx — the  Indians  are  nomadic,  wandering 
in  the  woods,  excessively  superstitious,  attached  to  their 
juggleries,  with  no  form  of  religion,  and,  so  far  as  regards  the 
most  part,  it  would  require  a  long  time  to  civilize  them. 

"That,  by  the  report  of  those  who  had  visited  the  southern 
coasts,  the   Rivers    Loup  and  Bic,  the  JMonts   Notre  Dame, 


no  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

and  had  even  penetrated  by  land  to  Cadie,*  Cap  Breton  and 
Chaieurs  Bay,  Isle  Percee  and  Gaspe,  the  country  was  more 
temperate  and  susceptible  of  cultivation.  That  there  would 
be  found  dispositions  less  estranged  from  Christianity  as  the 
people  had  more  shame,  docility,  and  humanity  than  the  others. 

"  That,  with  regard  to  the  upper  river  and  all  the  numerous 
nations  of  Indians  visited  by  Monsieur  de  Champlain  and  Fa- 
ther Joseph  themselves,  or  by  others,  besides  the  abundance  of 
game,  which  might  attract  the  French  there  in  hopes  of  trade, 
the  land  was  much  more  fertile  and  in  a  soil  and  tempera- 
ture more  convenient  than  among  the  Indians  down  the  river. 
That  those  above,  as  the  Algomquins,  Iroquois,  Hurons,  Nip- 
siriniens,f  Neuters,  Fire  Nation, J  were  indeed  sedentary  ; 
these  nations  being  generally  docile,  susceptible  of  instruc- 
tion, charitable,  strong,  robust,  patient,  insensible,  however, 
and  indifferent  to  all  that  concerns  salvation.  Lascivious 
tribes,  and  so  material  that  when  you  tell  them  that  their  soul 
is  immortal  they  ask  what  they  will  eat  after  death  in  the 
next  world.  In  general  none  of  the  savages  whom  they  had 
known  had  any  idea  of  a  divinity,  believing,  nevertheless,  in 
another  world  where  they  hope  to  enjoy  the  same  pleasures 
as  they  take  here  below.  A  people  without  subordination, 
law,  or  form  of  government  or  system,  gross  in  religious  mat- 
ters, shrevvd  and  crafty  for  trade  and  profit,  but  superstitious 
to  excess. 

"  They  remarked  that  none  could  ever  succeed  in  convert- 
ing them,  unless  they  made  them  men  before  they  made  tht-m 
Christians.     That   to   civilize  them  it  was  necessary  first  that 

*  Acadia,  now  Nova  Scotia.  f  NipissinjiS. 

:j:  Mascoutens,  called  Assistagucronon  by  the  Hurons. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  Ill 

the  French  .'-hould  mingle  with  them  and  habituate  them 
among  us,  which  could  he  done  only  by  the  increase  of  tlie 
colony,  the  greatest  obstacle  to  which  was  on  the  part  of  the 
gentlemen  of  tlie  Company,  who,  to  monopolize  trade,  did  not 
wish  the  country  to  be  settled,  and  did  not  even  wish  us  to 
make  the  Indians  sedentary,  without  which  nothing  can  be 
done  for  the  salvation  of  these  heathens. 

"  That  the  Protestants,  op  Huguenots,  having  the  best  share 
in  the  trade,  it  was  to  be  feared  that  the  contempt  they 
showed  for  our  mysteries  would  greatly  retard  the  establish- 
ment of  the  faith.  That  even  the  bad  example  of  the  French 
might  be  prejudicial,  if  those  who  had  authority  in  the  coun- 
try did  not  establish  order. 

"That  the  mission  among  such  numerous  nations  was  pain- 
ful and  laborious,  and  so  would  advance  but  little,  unless  they 
obtained  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company  a  greater  number 
of  missionaries  free  of  expense.  We  still  see  by  the  state  of 
their  project  that  all  agreed  that  it  would  need  many  years 
and  great  labor  to  humanize  these  utterly  gross  and  barba- 
rous nations,  and  that,  except  a  small  number  of  individuals, 
even  then  doubtful,  they  could  not  risk  the  sacraments  to 
adults.  This  we  still  see,  for,  after  so  many  years,  missionaries 
have  advanced  little,  although  they  have  labored  much. 

"It  finally  appears  that  it  was  decided  that  they  would  not 
progress  unless  the  colony  was  increased  by  a  greater  number 
of  settlers,  mechanics  and  farmers;  that  free  trade  with  the 
Indians  should  be  permitted  without  distinction  to  all  French- 
men ;  that,  in  future,  Huguenots  should  be  excluded  ;  that 
it  was  necessary  to  render  the  Indians  sedentary,  and  bring 
them  up  to  our  manners  and  laws. 


112  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

"  That,  by  the  help  of  zealous  persons  in  France,  a  semina- 
ry might  be  established  in  order  to  bring  up  young  Indians  to 
Christianity,  who  might  afterwards  aid  the  missionaries  in  con- 
verting their  countrymen.  That  it  was  necessary  to  maintain 
the  missions  which  our  Fathers  had  established,  both  up  and 
down  the  river,  which  could  not  be  done  unless  the  associat- 
ed gentlemen  showed  all  the  ardor  to  be  expected  from  their 
zeal,  when  they  were  informed  of  all  in  a  manner  far  diffe- 
rent from  what  they  had  been  by  the  reports  of  the  clerks 
whom  they  had  sent  the  year  before  ;  the  governor  and  our 
Fathers  having  no  ground  to  be  satisfied  therewith." 

This  is  nearly  an  abridgment  of  the  conclusions 
taken  in  this  little  assembly  of  our  missionaries  and 
those  best  disposed  towards  the  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral advancement  of  the  colony  ;  but  as  nothing 
could  be  done  without  the  aid  of  France,  Monsieur 
de  Champlain,  who  intended  to  go  there,  asked  the 
Father-Commissary  and  Father  Joseph  to  accompany 
him,  in  order  to  report  all  and  obtain  more  effica- 
ciously all  necessary  help.  It  was  hard  to  consent,  but 
at  last,  considering  how  important  it  was  to  lay  solid 
foundations  to  their  enterprise,  they  yielded  to  the 
persuasions  and  instances  of  the  company,  and  pre- 
pared all  for  their  departure.     They  left  among  the 


OF  THE  FAITH.  II3 

Indians  Father  John  d'Olbeau,  a  very  learned,  wise, 
and  zealous  man,  in  whom  they  confided  entirely, 
Brother  Pacificus  having  already  greatly  advanced 
in  sharing  his  apostolic  labors  in  instructing  the  In- 
dians;  so  that  they  set  sail  July  20,  1616,*  The 
voyage  was  pleasant,  and  they  arrived  in  France, 
the  vessels  loaded  with  furs  for  the  merchants,  bear- 
ing, too,  stalks  of  French  grain  which  they  had 
gathered,  and  plants  and  fruits  of  that  strange  and 
barbarous  country. 

The  associates  awaited  them  at  Paris,  whither 
Monsieur  de  Champlain  and  our  Fathers  repaired 
with  some  other  Frenchmen  who  had  gone  with 
him.  A  faithful  report  w^as  made  of  all  things,  tem- 
poral and  spiritual.  These  gentlemen,  after  many 
conferences,  promised  much,  but  without  effect ; 
very  zealous  for  their  trade,  they  cared  little  to  de- 
serve God's  blessing  by  contributing  to  the  inte- 
rests of  his  glory. 

It  is  true  that  our  poor  Fathers,  who  had  enter- 

*Sagard,    "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  31  ;  Laverdieie's  Champlain, 
1619,  p.  107.     They  reached  Honrieur  September  10. 

8 


114  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

tained  the  best  hopes  for  the  advancement  of  the 
kins^dom  of  Christ,  finding  no  encourao;ement  from 
these  persons,  on  whom  all  depended,  began  to  re- 
2:ret  their  departure,  as  their  voyage  had  so  little 
success.  There  are  letters  extant  written  by  them  at 
Paris  to  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  had  returned 
to  Normandy,  by  which  advising  him  of  what  was 
going  on  at  Paris,  they  showed  him  their  extreme 
chagrin  at  seeing  matters  so  little  advanced.  This, 
however,  was  incapable  of  cooling  the  ardor  of  these 
holy  religious ;  on  the  contrary,  basing  all  their 
hopes  in  God  and  deprived  of  the  help  of  these  in- 
terested men,  they  abandoned  themselves  entirely  to 
Providence,  who  raised  up  some  charitable  persons 
to  Pfive  them  means  to  continue  their  work. 

The  winter  was  spent  in  these  arrangements.  It 
is  surprising  to  say  that  so  noble  and  glorious  a 
project  as  the  conversion  of  a  new  world,  of  a 
barbarous  country,  which  was  then  much  spoken 
of  in  France,  should  find  so  little  help,  and  even  so 
much  opposition. 

Monsieur  de  Champlain,  on  his  part,  forgot   no- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  1 15 

thing  to  sustain  his  enterprise,  in  spite  of  all  the  ob- 
stacles which  he  met  at  every  step.  He  steadily  pre- 
pared a  shipment  greater  even  than  the  last,  but  we 
may  say  that  the  most  fortunate  thing  he  effected 
was  his  persuading  Sieur  Hebert  to  go  to  Canada 
with  all  his  family,  which  has  produced,  and  will 
hereafter  produce,  good  subjects,  the  most  impor- 
tant and  zealous  in  the  colony,* 

The  Recollect  province  offered  subjects  enough  ; 
but  the  members  of  the  company,  over-economical, 
would  give  passage  to  two  only.  The  superiors 
judged   that    Father    Denis,  the    late  commissary. 


*  Louis  Hebert,  apothecary,  is  regarded  as  the  father  of  Canada. 
He  was  the  first  settler  with  a  family,  and  his  house  was  the  first  one 
in  the  upper  town,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  between  the  present 
Ste.  Famille  and  Couillard  Streets.  In  1866  the  foundations  of  a  house 
were  discovered  in  the  garden  of  the  seminary,  which  were  supposed 
to  have  been  Hebert's.  After  rendering  great  services  to  the  colony 
he  died  in  Januar}^  1627,  from  the  results  of  a  fall,  and  was  buried  on 
the  27th  in  the  Recollect  cemetery,  whence,  half  a  century  later,  his 
remains  were  removed  to  their  church  in  the  upper  town.  Many  of 
the  distinguished  Canadian  families,  Joliet,  de  Lery,  de  Ramsay, 
d'Eschambault,  are  descended  from  him.  Mgr.  Taschereau,  Archbi- 
bishop  of  Quebec  ;  Mgr.  Tache,  Archbishop  of  St.  Boniface  ;  and  Arch- 
bishop Blanchet,  of  Oregon,  all  trace  their  ancestry  to  him.  Tanguay, 
■•  Dictionnaire  Gcnealogique,"  p.  301. 


Il6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

might  better  remain  in  France,  because,  being  tho- 
roughly aware  of  the  state  of  Canada,  he  could 
manage  its  affairs  better  than  any  other  and  obtain 
advantages  at  court  and  elsewhere.  Father  Joseph  le 
Caron  was  accordingly  appointed  commissary  of  the 
missions,  and  amons;  the  OTeat  number  of  reliorious 
who  offered.  Father  Paul  Huet  was  given  to 
him  as  a  companion.  All  things  being  ready  to 
set  sail,  they  weighed  anchor  at  Honfleur  April 
II,  1617.  The  vessel  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Morel."- 

The  voyage  was  long  and  dangerous.  Storms 
and  tempests  often  brought  them  to  the  greatest 
danger  ;  but  the  most  evident  peril,  which  caused 
them  the  greatest  apprehensions,  was  two  or  three 
hundred  leagues  from  Canada,  where  they  met  a 
bank  of  ice  of  prodigious  height  and  extent,  which, 
suddenly  appearing  in  the  fog,  came  bearing  down 
on  the  ship  like  a  huge  mountain  with  incredible 
velocity,  caused  by  the  violence  and  rapidity  of  the 
currents.     Many  masses  of  ice  of  extraordinary  size, 

■"  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  32. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  I  17 

detached  from  the  whole,  seemed,  from  their  diver- 
sity of  shape  and  height,  hke  castles  raised  one 
above  another  and  like  cities  of  crystal.  The  pas- 
sage was  closed  for  more  than  ninety  leagues,  so 
that  they  were  obliged  to  turn  off  their  route  in 
order  to  coast  along  these  ice-mountains,  always  be- 
tween life  and  death — the  least  part  of  this  mass 
being  capable  of  crushing  the  strongest  ships. 

In  so  general  a  consternation  Father  Joseph,  see- 
ing that  all  human  succor  could  not  deliver  them 
from  shipwreck,  earnestly  implored  the  aid  of  Heaven 
in  the  vows  and  prayers  which  he  made  publicly  on 
the  vessel.  He  confessed  all  and  prepared  himself 
to  appear  before  God.  All  were  touched  with  com- 
passion and  deeply  moved  when  Dame  Hebert 
raised  her  youngest  child  through  the  hatchway  to 
let  it  share  with  the  rest  the  good  Father's  blessing. 
They  escaped  only  by  a  miracle,  as  they  acknow- 
ledged in  their  letters  to  France.  God,  considering 
their  zeal  and  wishing  to  favor  the  conversion  of 
the  nations  of  Canada,  saved  them  from  this  peril 
and  n:iany  others  which  they  ran  soon   after  in  the 


Ii8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

river  St.  Lawrence.  They  at  last  arrived  safely  at 
Tadoussac  after  a  dangerous  voyage  of  more  than 
three  months.*  Father  Joseph  went  on  to  Quebec 
in  the  first  barks,  leaving  Father  Paul  Huet  at  Ta- 
douassac,  where  he  found  the  little  retreat  and  chapel, 
in  the  shape  of  a  cabin,  which  Father  John  d'Ol- 
beau  had  constructed  the  year  before.  The  Father 
repaired  what  had  been  damaged,  and  built  another 
of  poles  and  branches,  the  Indians  themselves  la- 
boring also,  particularly  those  who  had  received 
some  tincture  of  religion,  which  the  French  left 
there  to  trade  with  these  Indians  had  confirmed. 
The  Father  celebrated  holy  Mass  there  amid  the 
roar  of  the  ship's  cannon,  the  muskets  of  the 
French,  and  acclamations  of  joy,  in  wdiich  even 
the  Indians  joined  when  they  were  told  that  these 
ceremonies  were  to  bless  and  glorify  Him  who  had 
made  all,  and  to  thank  him  for  having  delivered 
the  French  from  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  the  par- 
ticulars of  which  were  told  them.  A  sailor  stood 
on  each  side  of  the  altar  with  fir-branches  to  drive 

*  June  14.     Sagard,  "  liistoiie  du  Canada,"  p.  34. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  II9 

off  the  clouds  of  mosquitoes,  which  gave  great  an- 
noyance to  the  celebrant. ■"■  After  a  short  stay 
Father  Paul  set  out  for  Quebec  on  Captain  Morel's 
ship. 

They  found  the  inhabitants  of  Quebec  in  great 
want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  living  only  by  the 
chase.  Even  powder  began  to  fail.  The  reader 
will  perhaps  expect  to  hear  that  a  great  quantity 
of  provisions  and  other  necessaries  were  landed  ; 
but  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company,  in  their  econo- 
my, had  treated  Monsieur  de  Champlain  pitifully, 
giving  only^goods  for  the  Indian  trade.  Moreover, 
they  cut  oft'  all  means  of  colonizing  French  there  ; 
and,  lastly,  the  voyage  had  been  so  long  that  they 
had  consumed  a  great  deal  of  provisions,  and  there 
was  nothing  left  but  a  barrel  of  pork  and  some 
small  stores  which  Sieur  Hebert  and  some  other 
passengers  had  brought  out  on  their  own  account. 

This  happy  arrival  did  not  fail  to  console  this 
little  colony,  which  was  reduced  to  fifty  or  sixty 
Frenchmen    actually    at    Quebec,    some    of   whom 

*  Sagard,    "  Histoire  du  Canada,"   p.  35. 


I20  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

were  attacked  by  the  scurvy.  Father  Joseph,  after 
seeing  the  state  of  all  things,  sent  Father  Paul  to 
Tadoussac  to  continue  the  mission.  Brother  Paci- 
ficus  set  out  to  continue  that  of  Three  Rivers,  and 
the  Father-Commissary  was  detained  at  Quebec  by 
Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  prepared  to  return  to 
France  the  same  year.  The  perils  of  the  voyage 
induced  him  to  ask  the  Father  Commissary  to  let 
Father  John  d'Olbeau  accompany  him  to  France.* 
Meanwhile,  after  the  departure  of  the  ships,  the 
Father-Commissary  celebrated,  with  the  usual  so- 
lemnities, the  first  marriage  made  in  Canada.  It 
was  between  the  Sieur  Stephen  Jonquest,  a  native 
of  Normandy,  and  Sieur  Hebert's  eldest  daugh- 
ter.f  He  married  his  second  ;|;  some  years  after 
to  Sieur  Couillard,  whose  posterity  has  become  so 
numerous  in    Canada  that  they  number  now  over 

*  Sagard,  "  Hist,  dii  Canada,"  p.  40,  makes  d'Olbeau  go  of  his  own 
accord  to  tr)'  and  influence  the  associates. 

f  This  marriage  of  Anne  Hebert  took  place  probably  in  the  spring 
of  1618.  Sagard,  p.  41  ;  Laverdiere's  Champl.,  i6ig,  p.  109  ;  Tangua}', 
"  Diet.  Genealogique." 

X  Guillemette  Hebert  married  William  Couillard  August  26,  162 1. 
Tanguay. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  121 

two  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and  at  least  nine 
hundred  connected  with  the  family.  Some  of 
the  descendants  have  obtained  letters  of  nobility, 
and  others  have  signalized  themselves  in  old  and 
new  France  by  important  services. 

A  tragical  accident  happened  about  this  time. 
It  was  a  massacre  committed  by  the  Indians 
on  two  Frenchmen.  These  savages  pretending 
to  have  received  some  affront,  had  resolved  to 
exterminate  all  the  French  ;  they  nevertheless  con- 
tented themselves  with  wreaking  their  fury  on 
these  two,  whom  they  killed  with  hatchets,  and, 
after  tying  large  stones  to  the  bodies,  they  threw 
them  into  the  river  at  the  mercy  of  the  current, 
to  hide  from  the  rest  the  knowledge  of  this  dark 
deed.  It  would  never,  indeed,  have  been  dis- 
covered had  not  the  cords  rotted  and  broken, 
and  the  tide  throw^n  on  the  shore  the  mutilated 
and  decomposed  bodies.* 

*  Sagard,  p.  42,  represents  this  murder  to  have  occurred  in  April, 
1617  ;  but  Laverdiere,  Champlain,  1619,  p.  113,  places  it  at  the  close  of 
the  summer  of  1616.  The  murdered  men  were  a  locksmith  and 
Charles   Pillet,  a  sailor.     Champlain,  p.  115 


122  FIRST   ESTABT.ISHMENT 

The  Indians,  seeing  themselves  suspected  of  the 
deed  by  the  order  given  prohibiting  them  to  ap- 
proach the  fort  or  houses  of  the  settlers,  began 
to  fear  for  themselves  the  just  vengeance  of  the 
French,  and  to  avoid  its  effects  they  went  up  to 
Three  Rivers,  and,  to  the  number  of  eight  hun- 
dred, held  a  council  of  blood  and  carnage,  the 
result  of  which  was  that  they  should  surprise  all 
the    French  at  Quebec  and   cut  their  throats. 

As  it  is  difficult,  in  a  council  composed  of  such 
a  numerous  assembly,  for  all  to  agree  and  keep 
the  secret.  Providence,  wdiich  watched  over  the 
preservation  of  the  colony,  permitted  one  of  the 
Indians,  called  "la  Foriere  " ''''  (whom  our  Fathers 
had  for  the  last  two  years  befriended  at  Three 
Rivers,  and  who  had  become  attached  to  them), 
to  warn  Brother  Pacificus.  He  immediately  in- 
formed the  French,  then  intrenched  in  a  little 
wooden  fort,  that  was  in  wretched  condition.  They 
spared  nothing,  loaded  the  Indian  w^th  presents, 
promised   him  still  greater,  not  only  to  learn  what 

*  Champlain  lias  La  Feiriere. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  123 

was  schemed  in  his  nation,  but  also  to  divert  them 
from  their  plot  against  us.  La  Foriere  executed 
his  part  well,  and  so  judiciously  worked  on  the 
minds  of  the  Indians  that  he  not  only  induced 
them  to  desist  from  their  deadly  resolution,  but 
even  induced  them  to  contract  a  still  closer  al- 
liance with  us,  so  that  they  begged  him  to  effect 
their  reconciliation  with  the  French  and  procure 
them  food,  of  which  they  were  in  great  need. 
They  sent  fort}^  canoes  of  women  to  obtain  a 
supply,  and  as  great  a  quantity  as  the  convenience 
of  the  time  permitted  was  granted. 

The  peace  proposals  made  by  la  Foriere  on 
their  behalf  were  received  with  pleasure  in  full 
council,  on  condition,  however,  that  the  chiefs 
and  captains  of  the  nation  should  surrender  the 
two  murderers  to  the  discretion  of  the  French, 
and  for  this  purpose  the  sachems  of  these  barba- 
rians were  ordered  to  come  to  Quebec  to  treat  of 
the   matter. 

This  proposition,  when  carried  by  la  Foriere 
to  the  assembly   of  the   savages,   at  first    alarmed 


124  FIRST  ESTAIVLTSHMENT 

these  infidels,  who  nevertheless,  reflecting  on  the 
natural  mildness  of  the  French,  and  relying  on 
the  authority  of  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  who  had 
always  shown  them  great  friendship,  persuaded  the 
less  guilty  of  the  two  *  to  descend  with  them  to 
Quebec,  ordering  their  little  army,  nevertheless,  to 
halt  half  a  league  from  the  fort  to  await  the  suc- 
cess of  their  negotiation. 

They  presented  the  criminal  then  to  the  French, 
with  many  beaver  robes,  which  they  gave  to  wipe 
away  their  tears,  according  to  the  usual  custom 
of  these  barbarians,  who  thus  transact  important 
matters.  In  fact,  by  presents  they  wipe  away  tears, 
appease  anger,  arouse  nations  to  war,  conclude  trea- 
ties of  peace,  deliver  prisoners,  raise  the  dead — in 
fact,  nothing  is  said  or  answered  but  by  pres- 
ents ;  hence  in  harangues  presents  pass  for  words. 
Those  made  for  the  death  of  a  murdered  man 
are    very    numerous  ;  but    it    is  not  generally  the 


*  This  account  is  more  full  and  cliaracteristic  than  Sagard's,  who 
says  that  the  Indians  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  murderers  (p.  45). 
Champlain,  1619,  p.  124,  makes  one  of  them  surrendered. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  125 

assassin  or  murderer  who  offers  them,  but,  as  usa^e 
requires,  his  relatives,  town,  or  even  whole  nation, 
according-  to  the  quality  and  condition  of  the  mur- 
dered man.  So  that,  if  the  culprit  is  met  by  the 
relatives  of  the  deceased  before  satisfaction  is 
made,  he  is  put  to  death  on  the  spot.  According 
to  this  custom,  then,  before  La  Foriere,  the  sachems 
and  chiefs  of  our  Indians  had  begun  to  speak,  they 
made  a  present  of  twelve  moose-skins  to  appease 
the  French,  that  they  might  favorably  receive  wdiat 
they  had  to  say. 

They  made  a  second,  and  threw  it  at  the  feet 
of  the  French,  saying  that  it  was  to  cleanse  the 
bloody  spot  where  these  two  murders  had  been 
committed,  protesting  that  they  had  no  knowledge 
of  it  till  after  the  blow  was  struck,  and  that  all 
the  chiefs  of  the  nation  had  condemned  the  deed. 
The  third  was  to  strengthen  the  arms  of  those 
who  had  found  the  bodies  on  the  bank  and  carried 
them  to  the  woods.  They  added  two  beaver  robes 
for  them  to  rest  upon  to  recruit  from  the  toil 
they  underwent  in  burying  them.     The  fourth  was 


126  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

to  wash  and  clean  those  who  were  sulHed  by  the 
murder,  to  restore  their  mind,  which  they  had  lost 
when  they  made  that  unlucky  stroke.  The  fifth, 
to  efface  all  resentment  from  the  heart  of  the 
French.  The  sixth,  to  contract  an  inviolable  peace, 
declaring  that  their  war-hatchet  should  be  suspend- 
ed in  the  air  without  inflicting  its  blow,  and  that 
they  would  fling  it  so  far  that  no  man  in  the  world 
should  ever  find  it — that  is  to  say,  that,  their  nation 
being  in  peace  with  the  French,  the  Indians  would 
have  no  arms  except  to  go  hunting.  The  seventh 
was  to  show  the  desire  they  entertained  that  the 
French  should  have  ears  pierced — that  is  to  say, 
open  to  the  sweetness  of  peace  and  the  pardon  of 
the  two  murderers.  They  then  offered  a  number 
of  wampum  collars  to  light  a  council-fire  at  Three 
Rivers  and  another  at  Quebec.  They  added  at 
the  same  time  another  present  of  two  thousand 
wampum  beads  to  serve  as  wood  and  fuel  for 
these  two  fires.  Remark,  if  you  please,  that  the 
Indians  hold  no  assembly  without  the  calumet  in 
their  mouth  ;  and  as  fire  is  necessary  to  take  tobacco, 


OF  THE  FAITH.  1 27 

they  almost  always  lij2;ht  one  in  every  council,  so 
that  it  is  all  the  same  with  them  "  to  lis^ht  a 
council-hre,"  and  "have  a  place  to  visit  each 
other,  and  assemble  as  relatives  and  hiends  who 
wish  to  speak  and  decide  on  their  affairs."  The 
eighth  was  to  ask  the  protection  of  the  French, 
and  they  added  a  large  belt  with  ten  beaver  and 
moose  robes  to  confirm  all  that  they  had  just 
said. 

Whatever  design  had  been  entertained  of  pun- 
ishing the  murderers  to  prevent  such  cruelties  in 
future,  they  were  nevertheless  obliged  to  pardon 
them,  as  they  were  unable  to  resist  these  powerful 
enemies.  Two  hostages  were  demanded,  and  they 
gave  Father  Joseph  two  young  boys  to  instruct, 
Niofamon  and  Tebachi,  and  the  criminals  were  sent 
off,  on  condition,  however,  that  on  the  arrival  of 
the  ships  the  whole  affair  should  be  finally  de- 
cided.'"^ 

Meanwhile    Monsieur    de   Champlain,   who   had 

*  Sagard's  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  45  ;  Laveidiere's  Chanipl., 
161  y,  p.  126. 


128  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

returned  to  France,  employed  aJl  his  address  and 
prudence  and  the  intrigues  of  his  friends  to  obtain 
what  was  necessary  for  the  estabhshment  of  his 
new  colony.  Father  John  d'Olbeau,  on  his  side, 
spared  nothing ;  both  spoke  frequently  to  the 
members  of  the  Company,  but  in  vain,  for  these 
people,  who  always  had  their  ears  open  to  the  flat- 
tering tale  ol  the  great  profit  to  be  made  in  the 
Indian  trade,  closed  them  to  the  requests  and  en- 
treaties made  them.  They  therefore  contented 
themselves  with  what  they  could  get.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  they  nev^ertheless  induced  some  Frenchmen 
to  go  and  take  lands  and  form  this  new  country. 
Our  Fathers  even  could  not  resist  the  entreaties 
of  Father  John  d'Olbeau  to  return  to  Canada 
with  Monsieur  de  Champlain.  He  took  with  him 
Brother  Modestus  Guines.  At  last,  early  in  spring, 
they  left  Honfleur,  and,  after  a  voyage  more  for- 
tunate than  the  last,  arrived  safely  at  Quebec.^' 

*  They  left  Honfleur  May  24,  1618,  in  a  vessel  commanded  by  Nich- 
olas de  la  Mothe-le-Vilin,  who  had  been  with  the  Jesuits  at  Mont 
Desert.  Laverdiere's  Champl.,  i6ig,  p.  111-12.  They  reached  Tadous-. 
sac  June  24      lb.      See  Sagard,  p.  40. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  1 29 

Soon  after  Monsieur  de  Champlain  embarked 
with  Father  Paul  Huet  for  Three  Rivers,  where 
they  found  Brother  Pacificus  du  Plessis,  who  had 
done  his  best  to  sketch  out  the  work  of  the  salva- 
tion of  the  heathen.  In  the  year  he  had  baptized, 
as  he  computed,  fifteen  or  twenty  of  these  savages, 
children,  sick  or  dying.  Here  the  murder  of  the 
two  Frenchmen  was  taken  up,  and  here  Monsieur 
de  Champlain  confirmed  the  pardon  promised  to 
the  murderers. 

The  Indians  a  second  time,  by  the  usual  pre- 
sents, invited  Monsieur  de  Champlain  to  go  to 
war  with  them  against  the  Iroquois,  but  he  did 
not  deem  proper  to  do  so.  His  presence  was  ne- 
cessary at  Quebec,  whither  he  descended  to  gain 
the  first  jubilee  ever  published  in  Canada. 

Father  John  d'Olbeau  had  obtained  it  of  His 
Holiness  during  his  stay  in  France.  It  was  opened 
with  the  usual  ceremonies  in  the  chapel  of  Quebec, 
July  29,  1618.  "^"  The  French  prepared  with  all 
possible  devotion.      Nothing  was  so   edifying   as 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  50. 


130  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  piety  with  which  they  visited  the  stations 
which  our  missionaries  had  prepared  by  httle  cha- 
pels, in  the  form  of  cabins,  in  the  environs  of  Que- 
bec. The  Indians  present,  though  ignorant  of  the 
Faith,  made  exteriorly  the  same  postures  and  cere- 
monies as  the  French,  and  some  of  them  a  little 
more  advanced  in  instruction  recited  the  prayers, 
chanting  their  best  with  us.  Monsieur  de  Cham- 
plain  gave,  meanwhile,  the  necessary  orders,  and 
that  indefatigable  man  prepared  for  a  new  voy- 
age to  France.  A  priest  had  to  be  given  him 
for  his  consolation.  The  lot  fell  on  Father  Paul 
Huet.^^ 

A  holy  dispute  arose  between  Fathers  John  and 
Joseph.  The  latter,  burning  with  the  desire  of 
devoting  his  toil  to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians, 
which  he  always  hoped  to  advance,  although  they 
could  remark  only  very  remote  dispositions,  be- 
sought Father  John  d'Olbeau  to  relieve  him  of  his 


*Champlain  embarked  at  Tadoiissac  July  30,  161S,  with  Father 
Paul  Huet  and  Brother  Paciticus  du  Plessis.  Laverdiere's  Champ., 
1619,  pp.  142-3. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  T31 

office  of  superior,  which  subjected  him  to  a  more 
sedentary  residence  at  Quebec.  Father  John  con- 
sented, the  more  as  he  was  given  to  understand 
that  his  eyesight  would  not  stand  the  great  smoke 
of  the  cabins.  Father  Joseph  accordingly  set  out 
from  Quebec  for  Tadoussac,  with  a  young  French- 
man and  four  Indians,  on  the  9th  of  November 
in  the  same  year,  not  finding  any  opportunity  of 
returning  to  his  mission  of  Carragouha  in  the 
Huron   country. 

This  Father  had  a  hard  enough  wintering  and 
underwent  great  hardships.  God  did  indeed  raise 
him  up  one  of  the  chiefs  of  these  nations,  who 
adopted  him  as  a  brother,  so  that  by  this  means  he 
gained  ground  with  these  barbarians  and  acquired 
credit  to  dispose  them  better  and  gain  them  more 
effectively  to  Christ.  Such  is  the  holy  artifice 
used  by  the  missionaries  who  go  to  winter  with 
savage  nations.  They  seek  the  most  esteemed 
chief  and  the  best  inclined  to  the  French.  This 
Indian  begets  him  (as  these  people  say)  amid  a 
feast  made  expressly.     This  chief  adopts  him  as  a 


132  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

son  or  brother,  according  to  the  age  and  rank  of 
the  person,  so  that  all  the  nation  considers  him  as 
actually  a  native  of  their  country  and  a  relative  of 
their  chief,  entering  by  this  ceremony  into  an  al- 
liance with  the  whole  family  in  the  same  degree — 
brother,  sister,  uncle,  aunt,  nephews,  cousins,  and 
so  on. 

The  one  who  adopted  Father  Joseph  as  a  bro- 
ther was  called  Choumin — that  is,   "  Grape  " — be- 
cause   he    loved    liquor.     The    French   called    him 
the  Cadet,  because    he  was  extremely  neat  in  his 
dress,    and    because    in  all    his  actions  he  affected 
French  manners. '""      Choumin  accordingly  did  all 
he  could  for  the  consolation  of  his  missionary.     He 
entertained  so  much  esteem  and  affection  for  him 
that,   his  wife  having  been  delivered  of  a  boy,  he 
wished  him  to  be  baptized  and  called  Pere  Joseph. 
"  I    insist,"    said    Choumin  to   this  good   religious 
when  the  latter   endeavored   to   persuade    him    to 
give  his  child  the  name  of  Monsieur  de  Champlain 
or  of  the  Sieur  Pontgrave,  "that  he  be  called  Pere 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  52. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  T33 

Joseph  like  you,  and  when  he  is  large  I  will  give 
him  to  you  to  instruct;  for  I  desire  with  all  my 
heart  that  he  should  live  without  a  wife  and  be 
dressed  like  you."  He  had  to  satisfy  the  Indian, 
whose  child  was  called  Pere  Joseph  *  and  died  in 
his  innocence  live  years  after  his  baptism. 

Our  missionary  then  employed  to  advantage  the 
friendship  of  the  Montagnais  chief,  who  helped 
him  materially  in  building  more  solidly  the  house 
we  had  there  in  a  beautiful  spot  which  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Company  had  in  due  form  granted  the 
year  before.  We  cannot  express  how  ardently 
Choumin  labored  himself  to  encourage  his  tribe 
by  his  example  to  continue  this  work,  where  he  f 
remained  with  one  hundred  and  forty  neophytes, 
whom  he  had  prepared  for  baptism,  till  the  15th 
of  July,  J  when  he  descended  to  Quebec  to  inform 
the  Father-Superior  of  all  that  had  happened  of  im- 
portance during  his  wintering.     He  left  in  his  mis- 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  dii  Canada,"  p.  54. 
f  Evidently  meaning  Father  le  Caron. 

:j:  Sagard,  "Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  54,  says  he  set  out  for  Quebec 
March  11,  1619.     He  says  nothing  of  his  chapel  or  neophj'tes. 


134  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

sion  two  Frenchmen,  very  good  servants  of  God, 
in  whom  he  had  great  confidence.  I  cannot  give 
a  more  faithful  account  of  the  other  circumstances 
of  his  wintering  than  by  what  he  himself  wrote  the 
Reverend  Father  Provincial  of  Paris  after  his  re- 
turn   from  Tadoussac  to  Quebec : 

"  I  went  to  Tadoussac  to  assist  the  barbarians  of  those 
parts,  to  instruct  them,  and  administer  the  sacraments  to  the 
French  and  those  who  dwell  there  during  the  winter  trade  of 
our  merchants.  We  have  not  had  as  much  snow  as  in  previ- 
ous years.  The  savages  have  had  a  great  famine,  and  I  will 
tell  you  that  by  the  disorders  of  the  people  whom  the  mer- 
chants leave  in  these  parts  to  trade  we  expected  to  be  all 
killed,  had  not  God  withheld  tlie  barbarians  and  turned  them 
from  us.  They  have,  nevertheless,  since  sought  our  friend- 
ship and  alliance.  These  people  are  withal  very  docile,  and  I 
am  astonished,  seeing  the  disorders  of  our  Frenchmen,  that 
they  do  not  commit  more  considerable  deeds.  I  write  to  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Company  a  part  of  what  I  have  seen.  I 
beg  you,  my  Reverend  Father,  to  take  this  to  heart  and  do 
your  best  to  have  it  remedied  as  much  as  possible,  so  that  or- 
der may  be  established  here.  The  Father  Commissary  and 
Monsieur  de  Champlain  give  me  great  hopes  ;  but,  after  all, 
we  find  no  greater  relief  in  that.  Our  merchants  are  always 
plunging  into  greater  disorders.  They  give  us  a  Huguenot 
as  clerk  and  intendant  of  their  stores  ;  the  powder-magazine 
keeper  is  of  the  same  religion  as  this  Protestant  who  com- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  135 

mands  at  this  i)ost.  If  possible,  the  king  ought  to  put  a  Ca- 
tholic lord  in  these  parts,  esteemed  by  him,  who  would  give 
what  is  necessary  to  build  a  seminary.  I  would  have  had  a 
great  many  children  to  instruct  in  the  mysteries  of  our  holy 
faith,  if  I  had  anything  to  give  them  to  eat.  I  have  taught 
the  alphabet  to  some,  who  begin  to  read  and  write  pretty 
well.  Monsieur  Hoiiel  can  show  you  a  specimen  which  I 
have  sent  him.  Thus  I  kept  open  school  in  our  house  at  Tas- 
soudac,*  in  order  to  attract  the  Indians  and  render  them  so- 
ciable with  us,  to  accustom  them  to  our  ways  of  living.  If 
we  knew  their  language  perfectly  I  do  not  know  what  pro- 
gress could  not  be  made  with  these  people.  We  entered  into 
some  discourse — namely,  who  had  made  the  heaven  and  earth 
— with  two  or  three  of  the  most  aged  and  intelligent.  As  for 
heaven,  they  do  not  know  how  it  is  made,  nor  who  was  the 
first  author,  *  If  we  had  been  there,'  said  they,  'we  might 
know  something  about  it.'  As  for  the  earth,  they  mentioned 
a  certain  Michaboche,  and  began  to  relate  a  thousand  fables 
which  someuhat  resemble  the  deluge.  At  last,  when  I  gave 
them  the  true  account  of  the  deluge,  they  told  me  it  might 
well  be  ;is  I  said.  They  believe  that  there  are  certain  spirits 
in  the  air  who  have  the  power  of  telling  future  things,  and 
others  who  are  physicians  able  to  cure  all  kinds  of  dis- 
ease. This  makes  these  people  very  superstitious;  they  con- 
sult these  oracles  with  great  attention.  I  have  seen  a  master- 
juggler  who  raised  a  cabin  with  ten  large  posts,  which  he 
planted  deep  in  the  ground-  In  it  he  made  a  frightful  racket 
to  consult  these  spirits,  in  order  to  know  whether  they  should 
soon  have  snow  in  great  abundance,  so  as  to  have  a  success- 

*  Tadoussac. 


o 


6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 


fill  moose  and  beaver  hunt.  He  replied  that  he  saw  many- 
moose,  which  were  still  a  great  way  off,  but  which  would 
come  within  seven  or  eight  leagues  of  their  cabins.  This 
caused  great  joy  to  these  poor  benighted  creatures.  I  told 
them  that  God  is  master  of  all  things,  and  that  he  it  is  whom 
we  should  ask  for  what  we  need.  They  told  me  that  they 
did  not  know  him,  and  that  they  would  be  very  glad  to  know 
whether  he  had  power  to  give  them  moose  and  beaver.  I 
made  them  understand  that  we  had  intelligence  to  know  how 
all  had  been  made  and  by  whom.  Their  only  answer  was 
that  if  I  would  come  and  reside  there  they  would  willingly 
give  me  their  children  to  instruct. 

"I  remarked  a  great  trait  of  justice  in  their  chief.  After 
we  made  peace  he  complained  that  we  sold  our  goods  too 
dear  when  the  Indians  came  to  trade,  and  he  asked  that  they 
should  be  sold  cheaper  in  future.  Our  factor  for  the  mer- 
chants, seeing  his  importunity,  told  him  that  he  would  sell 
cheaper  to  him  but  not  to  the  rest.  This  Indian  then  began 
to  say  to  this  factor  in  a  disdainful  way  :  'You  make  fun  of 
me  to  say  that  you  will  sell  cheap  to  me  and  dear  to  my  peo- 
ple. If  I  did  so  I  should  deserve  to  be  hung  and  beheaded 
by  my  people.  I  am  a  chief  ;  I  do  not  speak  for  myself  ;  I 
speak  for  my  peop-le.'  This  I  witnessed.  Think,  then,  I 
pray  you,  hov/  much  may  be  expected  of  these  Indians  when 
they  are  once  instructed  in  our  holy  faith.  If  you  desire  to 
know  how  we  pass  our  time  here,  I  will  tell  you  that  we  pass 
it  as  we  do  in  our  convents.  We  say  Mass  every  day,  thank 
God  !  with  our  Canonical  Office  ;  we  have  reading  at  table 
during  meals,  and  live  as  regularly  as  we  can.  I  commend 
myself  as  earnestly  as  I  can  to  all  the  prayers  of  our  good  re- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  137 

ligious.  I  have  baptized  ten  dying  children,  six  of  whom  en- 
joy glory,  having  died  since  baptism.  Many  adults  came  to 
be  baptized,  but  nothing  must  be  done  in  haste  ;  1  will  wait 
till  they  are  better  instructed.  I  gave  absolution  to  a  Hugue- 
not who,  by  the  grace  of  God,  has  entered  into  himself  and 
abjured  his  heresy  in  my  hands.  He  begs  earnestly  to  re- 
main with  us  at  Quebec  this  year,  but  I  do  not  knou-  whether 
our  merchants  will  let  him.  I  will  see  Monsieur  de  Cham- 
plain  before  his  departure  *  from  Tadoussac,  this  7th  of  Au- 
gust, 1618." 

*  What   follows  should   evidently   be  printed   as   the   date   of  the 
letter. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NEW    PROGRESS    FOR    THE     ESTABLISHMENT    OF    THE 
FAITH    IN    NEW    FRANCE    FROM     1618    TO     162O. 

r^  OD  is  ordinarily  pleased  to  try  his  elect  and 
^^  even  apostolic  men  in  the  most  sensible 
point ;  perils,  hardships,  sufferings,  the  sacrifice  of 
life,  would  be  a  pleasure,  if  by  becoming  victims  for 
their  brethren  God  gave  them  the  consolation  of 
seeing  some  success  in  their  enterprise  for  his  glory 
in  the  conversion  of  souls. 

Whoever  glances  at  the  immense  number  of  na- 
tions I  treat  of,  the  true  state  of  the  Canadian 
Church,  the  little  progress  it  has  thus  far  made 
among  the  Indians,  who  inhabit  so  vast  an  extent 
of  country,  in  which  so  many  learned  secular  priests 
and  holy  religious  have  everywhere  borne  the  torch 
of  the  Gospel  and  given  all  the  ingenuity  of  their 
zeal,  will  be  obliged  to  admire  the  depth  of  God's 
judgments  and  exclaim  with  St.  Paul:  "O  altitu- 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.     139 

do!"*  He  would  make  us  feel  that  the  conver- 
sion of  souls  is  the  work  of  his  grace,  the  happy 
moment  of  which  not  having  arrived,  he  is  content 
to  see  us  groan  under  this  dependence  of  his  inte- 
rior aid,  to  be  witness  of  our  sighs  and  tears,  to 
hear  our  prayers  and  desires,  to  receive  our  sacri- 
fices, to  accept  the  constant  entreaties  we  make 
him,  to  advance  the  time  of  his  mercy  for  these 
nations  buried  in  the  darkness  of  ignorance.  He 
nevertheless  wishes  all  Gospel  laborers  to  toil  in 
preparing  his  vineyard  ;  that  they  bestow  on  it  all 
their  industry,  but  that  they  await  the  fruit  in  pa- 
tience. God  will  act  at  the  time  marked  in  his 
providence,  and  this  just  remunerator  does  not  the 
less  accept  our  labors  and  our  sacrifices,  but  would 
only  deprive  us  of  that  return  of  sensible  joy  if 
they  were  followed  by  numerous  conversions,  which 
might  flatter  our  self-love  and  vanity. f 

1    here   give  my  readers   an   abridgment   of  the 

*  Romans  xi.  33  :   O  the  depth  of  the  riches,   of  the  wisdom,  and 
of  the  knowledge  of  God  ! 

•j-  This    is    given  as  an  excuse   for  the  small  number  of   converts 


HO  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

feelings  of  our  old  religious  on  the  early  missions 
of  Canada,  as  appears  by  the  authentic  acts  of  the 
Assembly  of  the  Superiors  of  the  Province  of  Pa- 
ris, held  on  the  return  of  Monsieur  de  Champlain 
and  Father  Paul  to  France,  after  the  report  made 
by  that  missionary  and  the  more  ample  informa- 
tion given  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  barbarians. 
Alas !  they  saw  with  grief  the  difference  between 
the  missions  of  this  New  World  and  those  of  the 
Recollects,  begun  and  then  continued  in  America 
and  Peru,  where  they  daily  converted  millions  of 
souls,  while  in  Canada  they  could  only  see  a  ster- 
ile and  unfruitful  land,  blindness,  insensibility,  a 
prodigious  estrangement  from  God,  and  even  an 
opposition  to  the  Faith  ;  that  centuries  might  be 
spent  in  preparing  these  barbarians  for  the  Gospel 
before  hoping  any  progress ;  that,  to  crown  the 
misery,  God  permitted  the  country  to  be  in  the 
hands  of  a  Company  of  merchants  guided  by  inte- 
rest  and  utterly  insensible  to   the  propagation   of 

made  by  the  Recollects,  but  he  makes  no  such  allowance  for  the 
Jesuits  in  chapter  xvi. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  141 

the  Faith.'"'  We  see  by  the  memoirs  of  that  as- 
sembly with  what  penetration  they  had  foreseen 
what  we  now  know,  and  that,  after  so  many  years 
of  apostoHc  labors,  so  little  has  been  done  for  the 
conversion  of  these  tribes.  In  this  I  have  admired 
the  great  faith  of  our  first  Fathers,  who,  in  spite  of 
all  opposition,  seemed  to  increase  in  zeal  and  re- 
solved to  continue  the  work  by  all  possible  means. 

One  of  the  chief  instructions  which  our  mission- 
aries had  given  Father  Paul,  when  deputing  him 
to  France,  was  to  consult  the  ablest  of  the  pro- 
vince and  the  doctors  of  the  University  of  Paris 
on  the  difficulty  they  felt  in  administering  the  Sa- 
crament of  Baptism  to  the  Indians. 

Such  is  still  the  disposition  of  these  tribes,  who, 
professing  no  religion,  seem  incapable  of  the  most 
ordinary  reasoning  which  leads  other  men  to  the 
knowledge  of  a  true  or  false  deity.  These  poor 
blind  creatures  hear  as  songs  what  we  say  of  our 

*  The  anonymous  "  Plainte  de  la  Novvelle  France  dicte  Canada, 
a  la  France  sa  Germaine.  Pour  seruir  de  Factum  en  vne  cause 
pandante  au  Conseil  "  (see  Harrisse,  p.  51),  is  perhaps  referable  to 
this  period. 


142  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

mysteries ;  they  take  only  what  is  material  and 
meets  the  senses  ;  they  have  their  natural  vices  and 
unmeaning  superstitions,  savage,  brutal,  and  barba- 
rous manners  and  customs  ;  they  would  willingly  be 
baptized  ten  times  a  day  for  a  glass  of  brandy  and 
a  pipe  of  tobacco  ;  they  offer  us  their  children  and 
wish  them  baptized,  but  all  this  without  the  least 
sentiment  of  religion  ;  even  those  who  have  been 
instructed  a  whole  winter  show  no  more  discern- 
ment of  the  Faith.  Very  few  are  found  not  buried 
in  this  profound  insensibility,  which  caused  our 
Fathers  great  alarms  of  conscience,  knowing  that 
the  few  adults  to  whom  they  had  administered  the 
sacrament,  even  after  having  given  them  instruc- 
tions, had  immediately  relapsed  into  their  ordinary 
indifference  for  the  things  of  salvation  ;  that  bap- 
tized children  followed  the  example  of  their  pa- 
rents ;  that  it  was  profaning  the  character  and  the 
sacrament. 

The  case  was  more  fully  exposed  and  thorough- 
ly discussed.  It  was  even  carried  to  the  Sor- 
bonne,  and  the   resolution  was   that,   as  for   dying 


OF  THE  FAITH.  143 

adults  and  children  beyond  hope  of  recovery,  the 
sacrament  might  be  risked  where  they  asked  it, 
presuming  that  at  this  extremity  God  gave  the 
adults  some  rays  of  light,  as  we  thought  we  saw  in 
some  of  them.  As  to  the  other  Indians,  the  sa- 
crament should  on  no  account  be  given  them,  ex- 
cept to  those  who,  by  long  practice  and  experience, 
seemed  touched,  instructed,  and  detached  from 
their  savage  ways,  or  to  those  habituated  among 
our  Frenchmen,  brought  up  in  our  way  of  living, 
and  humanized  after  being  well  instructed  ;  and 
in  like  manner  to  the  children  of  these.  Of  this 
a  formula  and  kind  of  fundamental  canon  was 
drawn  up,  which  served  as  a  rule  for  our  mission- 
aries to  conform  to  exactly. 

We  had  already  established  the  previous  years 
sedentary  missions  at  Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  the 
Hurons,  and  at  Tadoussac,  as  has  been  shown,  and 
our  Fathers  had  left  at  the  last  two,  devout  and 
zealous  young  men  who  had  offered  themselves  to 
us  in  France,  to  sacrifice  their  life  with  us  in  the 
apostolic  ministry  ;  they  labored  their  best  to  cate- 


144  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

chise  and  humanize  the  Indians  in  their  districts, 
living  with  them,  adopted  even  by  the  leading  men 
of  the  nation,  thus  seeking  the  salvation  of  the 
Indians  and  the  good  of  our  little  establishments. 
Our  Fathers  would  gladly  have  established  semina- 
ries in  all  these  spots  to  receive,  support,  and  in- 
struct Indian  children,  whom  their  parents  freely 
offered  ;  but  as  it  was  an  expensive  undertaking 
and  our  means  were  limited,  it  was  deemed  proper 
to  order  Father  Paul  to  solicit  in  France  necessary 
powers  and  alms  to  commence  the  great  work  by 
the  establishment  of  a  rea^ular  convent  at  Quebec, 
with  the  title  of  seminary,  where  children  should 
be  supported  and  instructed. 

Father  Denis  Jamay,  first  Commissary  of  the 
missions  in  Canada,  who,  after  his  return  in 
France,  had  been  employed  in  different  posts, 
at  Chalons  in  Champagne  for  the  good  of  the 
Province,  and  at  St.  Denis  in  France  as  superior 
and  preacher,  did  not  fail  to  advance  with  suc- 
cess the  affairs  of  Canada,  to  which  he  was  pro- 
mised a  return   the    next    year.       He  was  then  at 


OF  THE  FAITH.  145 

Paris  with  Father  Paul,  and  they  acted  in  concert 
to  obtain  the  estabhshment  of  a  seminary.  The 
powers  were  issued  in  due  form.  Monseigneur 
the  Prince  of  Conde  contributed  the  sum  of  fifteen 
hundred  Hvres.  Monsieur  Charles  des  Boiiis, 
Vicar-General  of  Pontoise,  an  ecclesiastic  of  great 
piety,  also  wished  to  take  part  ;  he  accepted  the 
post  of  General  Syndic  of  our  missions,  and  gave  as 
his  first  alms  the  sum  of  six  hundred  livres,  without 
mentioning  many  still  more  considerable  services 
which  he  afterwards  rendered.*  Some  other  zeal- 
ous persons  entered  this  holy  enterprise,  and  a  sum 
was  raised  by  their  charity,  which  was  confided  to 
Monsieur  de  Champlain. 

It  had  been  remarked  that  it  was  good  to  use 
all  kinds  of  workmen  for  instructing  the  Indians, 
and  that  seculars  even,  when  well-intentioned,  easily 
gained  their  minds.  Father  Paul  had  orders  to 
obtain  some  in  France,  if  possible,  to  serve  as 
auxiliaries,  and  sometimes  even  as  supplementary ; 

*Sagard,  "  Histoire  du    Canada,"  p.    56;  Laverdiere's  Champlain. 
1632,   p.  326  ;   "Memoire   faict   en   1637,"  L'Abellle   vii.   Nos.    25,  etc., 
Margrj',  i.  p.  8. 
10 


146  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

as  they  came  over  at  small  expense,  this  pleased 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Company.  Three  were  gain- 
ed, of  exemplary  mildness  and  piety,  who  voluntari- 
ly and  gratuitously  gave  themselves  to  us  as  asso- 
ciates in  the  apostolic  ministry,  and  who  served  us 
usefully.  Two  mechanics  were  also  obtained  on 
wages  to  work  at  our  new  buildings. 

The  chant  of  the  office  was  regularly  kept  up 
at  Quebec,  especially  on  Sundays  and  holidays, 
although  there  was  only  one  priest.  The  French 
assisted,  to  the  edification  of  the  Indians,  who  loved 
our  ceremonies,  although  celebrated  wnth  so  little 
solemnity.  Nevertheless  Father  Paul  was  happy 
enough,  aided  by  Father  Denis  and  Monsieur  de 
Champlain,  to  obtain  of  the  Company  another 
religious,  a  priest.  Father  William  Poulain,  a 
religious  of  singular  virtue,  was  preferred  to  the 
many  who  offered  to  go  to  Canada  with  Father 
Paul  Huet* 

Meanwhile  Monsieur  de  Champlain  neglected 
nothing    on    his    side    to    advance    the    temporal 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoiie  dii  Canada,"  p.  49 


OF  THE  FAITH.  147 

affairs  of  the  colony  ;  and  though  neither  at  court 
nor  elsewhere  did  they  respond  to  his  zeal  or  good 
intentions,  yet  he  obtained  something,  after  which 
he  prepared  a  shipment,  with  such  munitions  of 
war  as  he  could,  with  provisions  and  goods  for 
trade,  laborers,  mechanics,  farmers  to  cultivate  the 
land  ;  but  as  he  had  more  extensive  designs,  he 
deemed  proper  to  remain  in  France  to  conduct 
them  successfully,  sending  off,  however,  a  vessel 
in  which  our  Fathers,  Paul  and  Wilham,  embarked 
with  the  three  donnes'"'  and  the  two  mechanics. 
The  voyage  was  safe  ;  they  anchored  at  Quebec  in 
the  month  of  June,  1619. 

The  joy  of  their  coming  was  damped  by  the 
death  of  Brother  Pacificus,  who  died  on  the  23d 
of  August  in  the  same  year.  He  was  the  first 
victim  which  Heaven  received  of  our  missions. 
His  obsequies  were  celebrated  with  all  the  solem- 
nity that  the  state  of  the  country  w^ould  allow,  but 
accompanied  by  the  regrets  of  the  French  and  In- 

*  Donnes — men  who  gave  themselves  as  auxiliaries  to  the  missiona- 
ries. 


hB  first  establishment 

dians,  of  whom  there  was  a  prodigious  gathering. 
He  was  a  man  of  God,  of  great  mildness,  zeal,  and 
simplicity,  and  who,  though  but  a  mere  lay  brother, 
may  be  said  to  have  labored  extremely  in  a  short 
time  for  the  spiritual  and  temporal  advancement 
of  the  mission.* 

Father  John  d'Olbeau,  the  superior,  had  sent 
Father  William,  immediately  after  landing,  to 
Three  Rivers  with  the  two  donnes,  in  order  to 
put  all  in  order  and  watch  over  that  mission.  Fa- 
ther Joseph,  who  had  wintered  at  Tadoussac,  la- 
l)ored  there  on  his  side  with  great  application  ;  and 
as  they  had  received  from  France  with  the  regula- 
tions full  powers  and  the  first  aid  for  building  a  re- 
gular convent  and  seminary,  a  place  was  selected 
for  its  site  about  half  a  league  from  the  Fort  of 
Quebec,  where  they  proposed  to  build  the  city,  and 
where  our  convent  is  now.  This  place  represents  a 
kind  of  little  isle,  surrounded  by  natural  forests, 
where  the  waters  of  clear,  fresh  fountains  pass  and 
meander  agreeably  as    they  fall   from  a  neighbor- 

*  Sagarcl,  "  Ilistoire  du  Canada,"  p.  55. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  149 

ing  mountain,  and  which  reach  it  insensibly ;  hav- 
ing on  the  north  a  little  river  which  empties  near 
by,  and  on  the  east  the  river  St.  Lawrence  ;  the 
ground  is  rich,  fertile,  convenient,  and  easy ;  the 
prospect  grand,  extensive,  and  very  agreeable  ;  the 
air  is  extremely  pure  and  healthy,  with  every  charm 
of  situation  that  could  be  desired.  The  little  river 
was  called  by  the  Indians  Cabir  Coubat '^  on  ac- 
count of  the  turns  it  makes  as  it  winds  and  the 
points  of  land  it  forms.  Our  Fathers  gave  it  the 
name  of  St.  Charles  (which  it  still  keeps),  in  me- 
mory and  honor  of  Monsieur  Charles  des  Boues, 
Vicar-General  of  Ponthoise,  father  and  founder  of 
our  mission  by  his  care  and  liberality,  f 

In  this  spot,  then,  our  Fathers  undertook  to  build 
the  first  church,  the  first  conv^ent,  and  the  first  semi- 
nary which  ever  existed  in  the  vast  countries  of 
New  France.  The  Father- Superior  built  a  lime- 
kiln very  near  by,  the  traces  of   which  are  still  visi- 

*This  is  Montagnais.     Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  i.  p.  162. 

f  He  asked  that  the  seminary  should  bear  the  name  (Letter  in  Sa- 
gard, p.  71),  but  the  convent  was  called  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels.  It 
occupied  the  site  of  the  present  General  Hospital.     Laverdiere, 


150  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

ble.  Materials  were  prepared  at  once  and  brought 
to  the  spot  during  winter  with  the  planks  and  all 
else  necessary.  He  opened  pleasant  paths  through 
all  the  surrounding  woods,  and  cleared  the  ground 
to  begin  gardens.  Here  they  cabined  in  spring. 
French  and  Indians,  under  the  command  of  the 
Sieur  de  Pont-Grave,  contributed  equally  by  their 
labor ;  twelve  mechanics  were  employed,  who  were 
paid  out  of  the  alms  ;  so  that  on  the  3d  of  June, 
1620,  the  Father-Superior"^"  solemnly  laid  the  cor- 
ner-stone. 

While  things  were  going  on  thus  in  Canada 
Monsieur  de  Champlain  was  advancing  the  in- 
terests of  the  country  in  France,  having  obtained 
a  little  fleet  with  part  of  the  aid  necessary  for  the 
establishment  of  the  colony,  and  as  it  began  to 
assume  form,    his  Majesty   honored  him  with   the 

*  Father  d'Olbeau.  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  56  ;  "  Me- 
moire  des  Recollectz,"  Margry,  i.  p.  7  ;  "  Memoire  Inslructif,"  ib.  p.  19. 
Father  Jamay  describes  this  convent  at  length  in  liis  letter  printed 
in  Sagard,  p.  59,  and  also  separatel}'.  Harrisse,  p.  45.  The  "  Me- 
moire des  Recollectz  "would  give  the  idea  of  an  extensive  church,  with 
a  convent  attached,  whereas  from  Sagard  it  is  clear  that  it  was  a  frame 
house  for  a  convent,  in  which  they  had  a  chapel. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  i  5  i 

post  of  first  governor  of  New  France  by  letters- 
patent,  which  were  issued  to  him  with  order  to 
build  forts  there,  to  extend  and  govern  the  colony 
according  to  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  kingdom, 
and  especially  to  give  his  care  and  attention  to 
the  propagation  of  the  Faith.  He  also  received 
new  commissions  from  the  gentlemen  of  the  Com- 
pany, to  whom  the  king  had  granted  the  country 
with  absolute  power.  The  Duke  of  Montmorency 
gave  his  consent  as  Viceroy  of  Canada,  recently 
appointed  by  the  king.  Monsieur  de  Cham- 
plain  had  secured  many  persons  for  the  service  of 
the  country,  and,  as  he  intended  to  settle  there  him- 
self, he  arranged  his  domestic  affairs,  took  with 
hnn  all  his  property,  and  prepared  his  wife  and 
all  his  family  to  proceed  there  in  that  year,  1620. 

Father  Denis  Jamay,  who  had  begun  this  mission 
in  161 5  as  first  Commissary,  and  who  was  now  in 
France  as  Resident,  and  Procurator  of  the  mission 
and  colony,  had  just  returned  to  Paris  from  Ze- 
zane  in  Brie,  where  he  had  during  the  winter  es- 
tablished a  convent   of  our  order  as  first  Superior, 


152  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

The  province  agreed  to  sacrifice  him  once  more 
and  grant  him  leave  to  return  to  Canada,  more  es- 
pecially as  Monsiem'  de  Champlain  earnestly  asked 
it.  His  institution  as  Superior  and  Commissary 
Provincial  was  issued  under  date  of  the  present  year, 
and  he  prepared  to  set  out  with  Brother  Bonaven- 
ture.  Father  George  le  Baillif,  a  Recollect  religious, 
illustrious  for  his  birth,  his  personal  merit,  and  the 
singular  esteem  with  which  his  Majesty  honored 
him,  was  also  inspired  by  God  to  make  the  voy- 
age. *  The  Duke  of  Montmorency,  the  Sieurs  de 
Villemont,  Dolu,  the  former  Intendant  of  the  Ad- 
miralty and  the  latter  Intendant  of  the  affairs  of 
New  France,  commanded  Monsieur  de  Champlain 
to  undertake  nothing  without  the  participation  of 
that  good  Father,  assuring  him  that  they  would 
approve  all  that  he  did  in  concert  with  him.  All 
things  being  ready,  the  vessel  set  sail  in  said  year, 
i620,t  and  arrived  safely  at  Quebec.     Our  two  Fa- 

*Sagard  could  not  ascertain  when  this  Father  came  over.  "  Histoire," 
p.  72.     He  evidently  came  with  Champlain.     Laverdiere's  Ch..  vi.  p.  5. 

f  Father  jama)^  left  Honfleur  on  the  Salaniandn',  on  Passion  Sunda}', 
April  5,  and  reached  Tadoussac  on  the  Saturday  after  Ascension,  May 
30.     Letter  in  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  58. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  I  53 

thers,  who  had  come  out  in  different  vessels,  an- 
chored ahiiost  simultaneously. 

Almost  all  the  Frenchmen  in  the  country  were 
then  at  Quebec,  and  a  great  number  of  Indians  of 
several  nations  who  had  never  seen  such  a  fleet. 
This  happy  arrival  caused  redoubled  joy  in  all 
minds.  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  the  Governor, 
was  received  and  acknowledged  amid  the  noise  of 
cannon.  He  immediately  repaired  to  the  Recollect 
Chapel,  where  a  "  Te  Deum  "  was  sung.  Father 
Denis  Jamay,  the  Superior,  made  a  pathetic  exhorta- 
tion to  induce  the  peoples  to  the  submission  which 
they  owed  to  God,  the  King,  and  his  Lieutenant- 
General* 

Monsieur  de  Champlain,  untiring  man,  having 
closely  examined  the  state  of  affairs,  gave  his  orders 
everywhere.  We  say  nothing  of  the  goings  and 
comings,  or  of  the  voyages  he  made  in  several 
parts  after  his  arrival.  He  may  with  justice  be 
called  the  father  and  founder  of  this  new  colony, 
having  sacrificed  all  for  its  estabhshment. 

*  Laverdiere's  Champl.,  1632,  vi.   p.  5. 


154  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Meanwhile  the  Father-Superior  neglected  no- 
thing to  support  and  advance  our  missions  in  the 
country,  where  he  sent  obediences  in  form  to  the 
missionaries  who  were  in  their  districts,  sealed  with 
the  great  seal  of  the  mission,  to  prepare  the  minds 
of  the  Indians  remotely  and  obtain  the  mildest  and 
most  tractable  of  their  children.  He  found  the 
foundations  of  our  convent  and  seminary  laid  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  St.  Charles,  and,  as  he  had 
brought  a  reinforcement,  he  set  new  workmen  on 
it,  so  that  the  house  was  soon  ready  to  receive  the 
religious,  and  even  some  Indian  children. 

They  did  not,  however,  leave  the  house  and  chapel 
which  we  had  built  in  1615  where  the  lower  town 
of  Quebec  is  now ;  it  served  as  a  hospice  and  suc- 
cursal  chapel,  where  we  administered  the  sacra- 
ments and  where  the  Divine  Office  was  solemnly 
and  publicly  celebrated  as  well  as  in  the  new  con- 
vent. 

The  Father- Superior  meanwhile  steadily  ad- 
vanced the  building.  The  interior  of  the  church 
was  fitted  up  during  the  winter,  so  that  it  was  ready 


OF  THE   FAITH,  1 55 

to  be  blessed.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1621,  our  Fa- 
thers having  arrived  in  Canada  on  the  same  day  in 
161 5,  it  was  blessed  under  the  title  and  patronage 
of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  which  our  church  and 
onvent  still  retain,  as  the  first  church  and  first  re- 
ligious house  in  this  new  country,  as  the  first  house 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisium  was  con- 
secrated under  the  same  title  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels. 

We  do  not  add  here,  on  occasion  of  this  conformi- 
ty, the  singular  favors  then  received  by  one  of  our  Fa- 
thers with  Brother  Modestus  Guinez,  although  they 
are  confirmed  by  a  letter  of  the  Father- Superior  to 
the  Father- Provincial,  and  although  I  have  myself 
heard  it  repeated  from  the  lips  of  Madam  Coiiil- 
liard,  who  was  still  alive  when  I  was  in  Canada.* 
This  kind  of  extraordinary  favors  has  generally 
no  place  in  history  ;  most  people  give  them  little 
credit,  as  appears  by  certain  books  of  some  Cana- 
dian lives  which  have  been  published.f     It  suffices 

*  She  was  buried  Oct.  20,  1684.     Tanguay,  p.  142. 

f  This  alludes  probably  to  Father  Raguenau's   "  Life  of  Mother  Ca- 


156    FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

to  know  the  particulars  in  the  cloister  and  believe 
them  piously,  the  more  so  as  we  have  seen  by  the 
event  the  truth  of  all  that  God  was  pleased  to  re- 
veal at  that  time  to  these  first  apostles. 

tharine  de  St.  Augustin  "  (Paris.  1671),  and  to  the  biographical  notices  in 
the  Jesuit  Relations. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  GOVERNOR  AND  CHIEF  MEN  OF  THE  COLONY  DE- 
PUTE FATHER  GEORGE  LE  BAILLIF  TO  THE  KING 
FOR  THE  INTEREST  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

''  I  ^HE  Company  of  merchants  who  had  thus  far 
^  had  the  temporal  direction  of  Canada  expe- 
rienced the  unhappy  effect  ordinarily  attached  to 
the  error  of  those  who  forget  God  and  prefer  their 
own  interests  to  his  in  the  conduct  of  their  enter- 
prise. 

One  of  the  principal  intentions  of  King  Louis 
the  Just,  and  the  most  essential  condition  of  the 
powers  granted  by  his  Majesty  to  the  Canada  Com- 
pany, was  that  they  should  contribute  with  all  their 
power  to  the  establishment  of  the  Faith  and  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  Gospel  among  the  savages  of  this 
New  World ;  that  they  should  send  and  support  a 
sufficient  number  of  missionaries,  take  out  men  to 


158  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

cultivate  the  ground,  and  transport  mechanics  and 
persons  of  every  trade,  in  order  to  increase  the 
colony  bv  means  of  French  Europeans  to  be  taken 
there,  and  to  whom  they  should  afford  every  advan- 
tage that  could  be  reasonably  expected  ;  that 'they 
would  civilize  the  Indian  nations,  to  dispose  them 
more  readily  for  the  laws  and  customs  of  ours  ;  that 
Ihey  would  build  forts  for  the  defence  of  the  French 
and  of  our  Indian  allies ;  and,  finally,  that  they 
would  for  this  purpose  maintain  the  necessary  offi- 
cers and  soldiers,  in  consequence  of  which  his  Ma- 
jesty granted  them,  free  from  all  rent,  the  com- 
merce and  advantages  of  those  vast  countries. 
They  undertook  it,  but  really  in  course  of  time 
fulfilled  nothing  at  all.  From  the  extreme  cupidity 
of  gain  which  they  expected  they  entirely  neglect- 
ed the  progress  of  Christianity,  even  opposing  the 
ways  and  means  of  advancing  it ;  they  were  al- 
ways most  averse  to  the  increase  of  the  colony, 
and  instead  of  building  forts  and  fulfilling  the  other 
conditions  they  thought  only  of  sordid  lucre  and  of 
drawing  out   the  substance  of  the  country  by  the 


OF  THE  FAITH.  1 59 

quantity  of  furs,  then  the  great  staple  of  Canadian 
trade. 

Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  had  himself  formed 
that  Company,  had  tried  in  vain  during  his  stay  in 
France  to  open  their  eyes  and  to  appeal  to  their 
honor  and  conscience.  To  seek  the  good  of  the 
rising  colony  was  to  attack  them  directly,  and  the 
assistance  which  he  had  obtained  was  due  solely 
to  his  tact  and  address ;  he  attracted  settlers  only 
against  the  will  of  these  gentlemen,  and  all  the 
establishments  and  forts  which  he  built  in  New 
France  were  not  at  all  at  their  expense.  So  that 
if  this  New  World  had  not  been  upheld  by  the 
zeal  of  this  excellent  orentleman  and  able  pfovernor. 
and  by  the  care  and  application  of  the  missiona- 
ries, the  whole  enterprise  would  have  surely  failed. 

A  ship  arriving  from  France  in  the  present  year, 
1 62 1,  brought  news  that  the  Duke  de  Montmo- 
rency, Viceroy  of  Canada,  had  formed  a  new  Com- 
pany to  oppose  the  old  one,  in  hopes  that  it  would 
more  faithfully  fulfil  the  above  conditions.  Messrs. 
William  and   Emeric  de  Caen,  uncle  and  nephew, 


l6o  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

were  at  the  head.*  The  oldf  Company  had  sent  a 
vessel,  which  arrived  early  in  the  spring  at  Quebec, 
with  orders  to  their  agent  to  use  the  fort  of  the 
settlement  and  enter  into  all  the  rights  of  the 
country  specified  in  the  treaty,  yet  without  inter- 
fering with  the  fur  trade  and  effects  of  the  old 
Company. 

The  Sieur  de  Pontgrave,  who  was  in  France  for 
the  old  Company,  had  left  it  and  closely  followed 
the  Messrs.  de  Caen's  ship.  He  arrived  at  Quebec, 
but  was  not  permitted  to  enter ;  they  merely  gave 
him  some  goods  and  permitted  him  to  trade  at 
Three  Rivers  for  the  benefit  of  his  associates.  He 
yielded,  and  soon  after  dropped  down  to  Tadoussac 
to  trade. 

There  Monsieur  de  Caen  arrived  from  France 
with  the  decree  of  the  Council  to  settle  differences, 
declaring  that  the  two  companies  should  trade 
freely   together    that   year,   and    that    both    should 


*  Laverdiere's  Chaniplain,  1632,  vi.  p.  10;  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du 
Canada,"  p.  56  ;  Lettre  de  Montmorency  a  Champlain,  Feb.  2,  1621, 
Mass.  Paris  Doc,  i.  p.  493.  f  Should  be  "new." 


OF  THE  FAITH.  l6l 

contribute  to  the  expenses  and  share  the  profits. 
These  disputes  caused  great  trouble  and  greatly  re- 
tarded the  progress  of  the  colony,  notwithstanding 
all  the  steps  taken  by  Monsieur  de  Champlain  to 
remedy  them.  Every  one  took  sides,  all  was 
spent  in  disputes,  and  nothing  was  gained.  "^^ 

Amid  all  these  differences  the  governor,  the 
Recollects,  and  the  best-intentioned  settlers  formed 
a  third  party,  and,  having  in  view  only  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Faith  and  of  the  colony,  lamented 
to  see  that  all  was  about  to  be  lost  by  quarrels  of 
interest,  which,  when  reported  in  France,  would 
undoubtedly  disgust  the  King  and  his  ministers, 
and  make  them  lose  the  good-will  then  enter- 
tained by  the  court  for  Canada.  They  drew  up 
all  the  causes  of  complaint  which  they  had.  The 
affair  was  delicate.  After  all  the  attempts  which 
Monsieur  de  Champlain  had  made  in  France  he 
had  little  hope  of  being  heard  from  such  a  dis- 
tance. But  at  last,  as  the  governor  and  notables 
of  the  country,  in  union  with  their  first  missionaries, 

*  Laverdifere's  Champlain,  1632,  vi.  pp.  11,  etc. 
11 


l62  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

had  also  made  for  themselves  powerful  friends  at 
court,  they  resolved  to  send  a  deputation  to  the 
King,  and  to  select  one  who  had  capacity  and  credit 
to  negotiate  successfully  the  affairs  of  the  country 
at  this  juncture. 

There  was  no  hesitation  in  the  choice.  Mon- 
sieur de  Champlain's  presence  being  absolutely  ne- 
cessary in  this  New  World,  no  one  was  found  who 
could  fill  this  embassy  better  than  Father  George 
le  Baillif,"^*  who,  besides  the  access  which  his  habit, 
virtue,  and  birth  gave  him  at  court,  had  also  the 
advantage  of  being  known  by  the  King,  who  even 
frequently  honored  him  by  conversation  and  let- 
ters. This  good  Father,  seeing  the  will  of  God  in 
all  the  reasons  alleged,  accepted  the  commission. 

An  authentic  power  was  drawn  up,  signed  by 
the  governor  and  principal  officers  and  inhabitants, 
and  sealed  with  the  great  seal  of  the  mission,  f 
The  Father,  however,  seeing  in  it  several  articles 
the  negotiation  of  which  was  not  altoa^ether  suited 

*  George  le  Baillif  de  la  Haye.     Ferland,  i.  p.  201. 
f  It  is  given  in  Sagard,  pp.  73,  etc. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  163 

to  a  missionary,  protested  to  the  Assembly  that  he 
accepted  it  only  from  their  want  of  a  disinterest- 
ed person  and  to  advance  what  concerned  God's 
glory,  the  King's  service,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  colony,  absolutely  necessary  for  the  propagation 
of  the  Faith  among  the  Indian  nations. 

Father  George,  in  virtue  of  his  powers,  accom- 
panied by  statements  of  the  country  and  necessary 
instructions,  embarked  on  the  7th  of  September  in 
the  same  year  on  the    Sieur   de  Pont-Grave's  ves- 
sel.*    After  a  safe   voyage   he  arrived   in   France, 
and,    leaving  the   two  companies  to    discuss   their 
interests,  he  devoted  himself  solely  to  interest  the 
King  in  the  country.      He  had  the  honor  of  salut- 
ing his  Majesty  at  St.  Germain.     He  was  very  fa- 
vorably received,  but  did  not  enter  into  any  details 
at  that  first  audience.      Some   days  later  Monsieur 
de  Montmorency  obtained  a  second.     After  con- 
versing with  the  King  in    private  on   the  general 
state  of  Canada  and   the  chief  articles  which    Fa- 
ther George  had   to   present,    this  nobleman,   who 

*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  1632,  vi.  p.  33. 


164  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

loved  the  counti\',  introduced  the  missionary  to 
this  second  audience,  to  which  the  Reverend  Fa- 
ther-Provincial was  also  admitted.  Father  George 
made  his  harangue  in  the  most  respectful  and 
touching  terms  ;  presented  his  credentials,  his  de- 
putation, and  a  very  humble  remonstrance  in  form 
of  petition  to  his  Majesty,  who  received  it  with  all 
possible  goodness  and  piety,  and  gave  it  to  Mon- 
sieur de  Montmorency  to  be  referred  to  his  Coun- 
cil, promising  the  Father  not  only  to  render  justice 
in  the  matter,  but  also  to  grant  him  personally  his 
royal  protection  and  favor. 

We  cannot  better  inform  the  reader  of  this  nego- 
tiation, and  more  suitably  satisfy  the  proper  curi- 
osity which  he  may  have  to  know  the  condition  of 
New  France,  its  commercial  basis,  and  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  it,  than  by  here  giving  to 
the  public  a  copy  of  the  petition  and  the  essential 
articles  of  the  deputation  : 

"  To  all  whom  it  may  concern,  know  that  in  the  year  of 
grace  1621,  the  i8th  day  of  August,  in  the  reign  of  the  most 
high,  most  ]niissant,  and  most  Christian  monarch  Louis  XIII. 
of  the  n.ime,  Kinij,  of  France,  of  Navarre  and  of  New  France, 


OF    THE  FAITH.  1 65 

called  Western,  under  the  government  of  the  high  and  puis- 
sant Lord  Messire  Henry,  Duke  of  Mont-morency  and  Dam- 
ville,  peer  and  Admiral  of  France,  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
General  for  the  King  in  Languedoc,  and  Viceroy  of  the  coun- 
tries and  lands  of  New  France,  called  Western,  under  the 
lieutenancy  of  noble  man  Samuel  de  Champlain,  ordinary 
Captain  for  the  King  in  the  Navy,  Lieutenant-General  in  said 
countries  and  lands  of  said  Viceroy,  that,  by  permission  of 
said  Lieutenant,  a  general  assembly  was  held  of  ail  the  French 
settlers  in  the  country  of  New  France,  in  order  to  concert  the 
most  proper  measures  in  regard  to  the  ruin  and  desolation  of 
all  tliis  country,  and  to  seek  the  means  of  preserving  the  Ca- 
tholic, Apostolic,  and  Roman  religion  intact,  the  authority  of 
the  King  inviolable,  and  the  obedience  due  to  the  said  Vice- 
roy, after  it  had  by  said  Lieutenant,  religicnis,  and  settlers, 
in  the  presence  of  Sieur  Baptiste  Guers,  commissary  of  said 
Viceroy,  been  concluded,  and  promised  to  live  only  for  the  pre- 
servation of  tlie  said  religion,  inviolable  obedience  to  the  King, 
and  preservation  of  said  Viceroy's  authority,  yet,  in  view  of  the 
imminent  ruin  of  the  whole  country,  it  has  by  like  vote  been 
resolved  that  choice  be  made  of  a  person  in  the  assembly  to 
be  deputed,  on  behalf  of  the  whole  country  in  general,  to  go  to 
the  feet  of  the  King  and  make  the  most  humble  submission 
to  which  nature,  Christianity,  and  duty  render  all  subjects 
obliged,  and  present  with  all  humility  a  statement  of  the  coun- 
try, in  which  should  be  contained  the  disorders  which  had 
occurred  in  tliis  country,  especially  in  this  year  162 1  ;  and  also 
that  such  deputy  wait  upon  our  said  Lord  Viceroy  to  com- 
municate in  like  manner  to  him  such  disorders,  and  to  beg 
him  to  unite  in  their  complaint  and  reijuest  for  a  remedy  to 
the   many  evils  that  threaten  these  lands  with  coming  ruin  ; 


l66  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

and,  finally,  that  such  deputy  may  act,  request,  convene,  treat 
and  grant  for  such  country  generally  in  all  times  and  places 
as  shall  be  most  for  the  advantage  of  said  country ;  and  as  all, 
with  like  consent  and  unanimity,  knowing  the  holy  ardor  for 
the  Christian  religion,  inviolable  zeal  in  the  King's  service,  and 
devoted  affection  for  the  preservation  of  the  authority  of  the 
said  Viceroy  constantly  and  faithfully  shown  by  the  Reverend 
Father  George  le  Baillif,  Religious  of  the  Order  of  Recollects, 
together  with  his  great  probity,  learning,  and  prudence,  we  have 
commissioned,  deputed,  and  delegated  liim,  with  full  power 
and  charge  to  act,  represent,  request,  settle,  write,  and  grant 
for  and  in  the  name  of  all  the  settlers  of  this  land,  in  all  hu- 
mility beseeching  his  majesty,  his  council,  and  our  said  lord 
Viceroy  to  accept  this  our  delegation,  to  preserve  and  pro- 
tect said  reverend  Father,  that  he  be  not  troubled  or  molested 
by  any  person  whatever  or  under  any  pretext  whatever,  that 
he  may  peacefully  act  and  prosecute  the  affairs  of  the  coun- 
try, to  whom  we  forthwith  give  power  to  reduce  all  the  infor- 
mation given  him  by  individuals  into  a  general  statement,  and 
to  affix  his  signature  thereto  with  the  ample  declaration  we 
now  make,  to  accept  and  ratify  all  done,  signed,  required, 
negotiated,  and  granted  by  said  reverend  Father  in  what 
shall  concern  said  country.  And  we  also  empower  him  to 
name  and  appoint  one  or  two  Advocates  in  his  Majesty's 
council,  sovereign  courts  and  jurisdictions,  for  and  in  his 
name  and  ours  to  write,  consult,  sign,  plead,  and  petition  his 
Majesty  and  council  in  all  that  concerns  the  affairs  of  New 
France.  We  humbly  request  all  princes,  potentates,  lords, 
governors,  prelates,  justiciaries,  and  all  to  whom  it  shall  be- 
long, to  give  favor  and  assistance  to  said  reverend  Father, 
and    prevent   his  being    disquieted  or     molested  in    this  pre- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  167 

sent  delegation,  while  going  or  coming  or  abiding  in  France, 
with  particular  obligation  of  gratitude  on  our  part  as  far  as 
possible.  Given  at  Quebec,  in  New  France,  under  the  sig- 
nature of  the  jirincipal  inhabitants,  acting  for  all,  who,  to 
authenticate  still  moie  this  delegation,  have  besought  the 
Very  Rev.  Father  in  God,  Denis  Jamay,  Commissary  of  the 
Religious  who  are  in  these  lands,  to  affix  his  ecclesiastical 
seal  the  day  and  year  as  above. 

(Signed)         CHAMPLAIN. 

FRIAR  DENIS  JAMAY, 

Commissary. 
FRIAR  JOSEPH  LE  CARON. 
HEBERT,  Royal  Procurator. 
GILBERT  COURSERON, 

Lieutenant  du  Prevost. 
BOULLE. 
PIERRE  REYE. 
LE  TARDIF. 
I.  LE  GROUX. 
P.  DES  PORTES.    ^ 
NICOLAS, 

Prothonotary  of  the  Jurisdiction 
of  Quebec  and  of  the  Assembly.  \ 
GUERS, 

Commissioner  of  my  lord  the  Vice- 
roy^ and  present  at  this  election. 

Sealed   witli   the   seal   affixed  of   the  said  Reverend 
Father-Commissary  of  the  Recollects. 


Ib8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

"TO  THE  KING: 

"Sire: 
"  The  poor  Recollect  Religious  residing  at  Quebec,  in  New 
France,  most  humbly  show  that  for  six  years  that  it  has  pleased 
God  to  employ  their  ministry  under  your  Majesty's  authority, 
as  well  in  the  voyage  to  this  strange  land,  discoveries  of  coun- 
try, as  in  the  conversion  of  most  savage  nations  to  the  know- 
ledge of  God  and  their  civil  conversion,  they  have  deferred 
giving  their  advice  touching  this  enterprise  until,  experience 
seconding  their  good-will,  they  can  with  more  certainty,  as  it 
behooves  not  to  speak  to  kings  but  on  well-digested  and  ma- 
turely-considered matters,  propose  to  your  Majesty  what  is 
necessary  in  this  affair  ;  and  although  from  the  first  years  of 
their  residence  in  the  country  it  seemed  their  duty  to  inform 
your  Majesty  of  what  was  needed  for  carrying  out  that  great 
design,  they  have  considered  that  the  annual  letters  which 
they  have  written  since  their  coming  should  suffice  till  the 
country  and  the  nations  were  better  known  to  them,  so  that, 
according  as  they  should  find  out  the  disposition  of  the  peo- 
ple and  the  profits  to  be  hoped  from  the  land,  they  might 
judge  what  would  be  most  proper.  Now  that  the  visiting  of 
the  tribes  has  made  them  fully  informed  by  observation,  and 
that  the  voyages  which  they  have  made  of  five  or  six  hundred 
leagues  inland  in  company  with  the  Sieurde  Champlain,  Lieu- 
tenant under  your  authority  of  Monseigneur  de  Montmorency, 
Viceroy  of  tlie  country,  have  acquired  them  the  much-desired 
knowledge  of  the  people  of  different  countries  ;  and  seeing 
the  great  and  manifest  profit  which  might  redound  to  God's 
glory,  the  increase  of  the  sceptre  and  empire  of  the  French, 
the  singular  pleasure  of  your  majesty,  and  profit  and  advan- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  1 69 

tage  of  all  his  subjects,  your  petitioners  have  deemed  it  ex- 
pedient, even  greatly  necessary,  to  declare  what  they  know 
in  conscience  to  be  the  state  of  all  this  enterprise,  in  order 
that  it  may  please  your  Majesty  to  grant  them  what  is  con- 
tained in  their  annexed  memorial.  Your  petitioners  are,  then, 
with  God's  grace.  Sire,  in  a  land  commonly  called  Canada, 
but  better  New  France,  in  a  place  called  Quebec,  built  by  the 
singular  diligence  and  industry  of  the  Sieur  de  Champlain,  far 
up  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  Having  resided  here,  they  have 
learned  the  riches  of  this  quarter,  and  es])ecially  of  this  river, 
accompanied  by  many  beautiful  and  fertile  islands,  stocked 
with  such  an  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  fish  as  cannot  be  de- 
scribed, bordered  by  hills  full  of  fruit-trees,  such  as  walnuts, 
chestnuts,  plums,  cherries,  and  wild  vines,  with  numerous 
meadows  which  adorn  and  embellish  the  valleys,  the  rest  of 
the  earth  furnished  and  peopled  with  all  kinds  of  game,  more 
numerous  and  profitable  than  in  France,  as  there  is  not  only 
no  lack  of  the  game  and  deer  ordinary  in  these  countries,  but 
tiiere  are,  besides,  elks,  or  orignal,  beaver,  black  fox,  and  other 
animals,  the  fur  of  which  gives  access  and  hopeof  a  very  great 
trade  hereafter.  Moreover,  the  fertility  of  this  country  has 
been  more  and  more  established  by  the  travels  your  petition- 
ers have  made  there,  which  have  brought  to  their  knowledge 
more  than  three  hundred  thousand  souls  desirous  of  agricul- 
ture and  easy  to  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  being 
bound  to  no  worship,  by  the  aid  of  which  tribes,  rivers, 
streams,  lakes  of  unspeakable  length  and  breadth  have  been 
discovered  by  your  petitioners  ;  but  as  good  is  not  acquired 
without  pain,  there  is  no  doubt  that  besides  the  great  labors 
of  your  petitioners  in  these  discoveries,  and  their  stay  in  the 


I70  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

country,  what  gives  them  most  trouble  is  not  only  to  be  left 
without  the  help  of  any  comfort,  but  even  of  food,  by  those 
who  are  associated  in  this  trade,  on  whom  alone  this  obliga- 
tion rests  ;  but,  moreover,  these  lauds  and  their  abundance 
being  recognized  by  other  nations,  the  settlers  here  are  in 
perpetual  fear  of  surprise,  expecting  the  hour  wlien  all  who 
reside  at  said  Quebec  shall  have  their  throats  cut.  For  we 
must  not  trust  so  much  to  the  closed  eyelids  of  lions  when  we 
know  that  they  bite  when  asleep,  or  think  that  the  enemies  of 
your  crown,  though  they  seem  asleep,  will  not  be  attracted  by 
such  great  hopes  of  gain  and  profit.  In  fact.  Sire,  who  would 
not  run  the  risk  of  coming  to  possess  so  rich  a  land,  which  gives 
from  its  bosom  mines  of  steel  and  iron,  yielding  forty-five  per 
cent.,  of  lead  thirty,  of  copper  eighteen,  and  which  promises 
gold  and  silver  ? — a  land  which  returns  with  usury  all  kinds 
of  seed,  and  which  even  now  gives  materials  proper  for  the 
construction  of  all  kinds  of  vessels,  furnishing  staves,  felloes, 
boards  for  windows,  wainscoting,  and  moreover  gum,  pitch, 
and  resin  ;  besides  the  peltry  above  mentioned,  ashes  and 
potash,  of  which  alone  a  trade  of  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  crowns  can  be  established;  and,  what  is  more  to  be 
considered,  any  other  in  possession  of  this  land  could  thence 
keep  in  check  and  constraint  more  than  a  thousand  vessels  of 
your  kingdom  which  come  yearly  to  the  fisheries,  from  which 
they  carry  oil,  codfish,  whalebone,  and  salmon,  which  your 
subjects  use.  In  truth,  the  attack  once  made  by  the  English 
who  destroyed  the  fleet  in  which  M.  de  Poutrincourt  was 
going  to  Acadia  gives  your  petitioners  fears,  whicl^  are  all  the 
greater  as  they  would  regret  to  see  the  august  title  of  New 
France  changed   into   another,   whether   New   Holland,  New 


OF  THE  FAITH.  T?^ 

Flanders,  or  New  England  ;  for  to  believe  that  there  is  any- 
thing here  now  to  resist  such  an  enteri)rise  is  to  deceive  one's 
self  in  the  prospect  of  an  inevitable  evil,  unless  it  is  remedied, 
and  even  if  it  does  arrive  it  will  not  be  without  having  been 
long  threatened,  without  taking  into  account  the  plots  and 
enterprises  of  the  merchants  of  Rochelle,  who  every  year 
carry  arms  and  munitions  to  the  Indians,  inciting  them  to 
massacre  the  French  and  destroy  their  settlement,  which  is 
by  no  means  inconsiderable.  Your  petitioners  have,  then, 
deemed  themselves  bound  in  conscience  to  inform  your 
Majesty  of  his  interest  in  preserving  that  land,  which  promises, 
by  a  continuation  of  former  explorations,  a  favorable  passage  to 
go  to  China,  which  it  is  the  more  easy  to  preserve  and  main- 
tain. Sire,  under  your  sway,  as  the  preservation  of  these  coun- 
tries depends  on  the  support  of  religion  by  the  authority  of 
justice,  when  both  are  supported  and  maintained  by  the 
power  of  a  garrison  stationed  in  a  Fort  that  ought  to  be  built 
on  the  crest  of  a  mountain,  which  will  keep  over  eighteen  hun- 
dred leagues  of  country  subject,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  known 
approach,  except  by  the  entrance  of  said  river  St.  Lawrence. 
This  will  give  success  to  commerce  and  will  render  it  highly 
profitable,  and  thus  your  glory  be  augmented  and  a  flower  add- 
ed to  the  French  crown. 

"  On  these  considerations,  Sire,  may  it  please  your  majesty 
to  grant  your  petitioners  what  is  contained  in  the  articles  here- 
to annexed,  for  the  preservation  of  said  country,  the  increase 
and  support  of  the  Christian  religion  therein,  and  they  will  con- 
tinue their  labors  and  prayers  for  the  increase  of  your  empire 
and  your  majesty's  prosperity.  Besides  that,  the  souls  which 
will  be  thus  brought  to  Christianity  will  render  their  prayers, 


172  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

their  goods,  and  their  lives  tributary  to  his  sceptre,  if  it  please  his 
Majesty  to  grant  what  is  asked  of  him — to  wit  :  As  regards 
religion,  that  all  your  Majesty's  subjects  professing  the  pretend- 
edly  reformed  religion  be  forbidden  to  settle  or  maintain  there 
any  persons  of  any  nation  whatever  of  said  pretendedly  re- 
formed religion,  under  such  penalties  as  shall  be  judged  rea- 
sonable ;  that  it  may  please  your  Majesty  to  found,  for  six 
years  only,  a  seminary  for  fifty  Indian  children,  after  which 
time  they  can  be  supported,  in  consequence  of  the  increased 
return  of  the  lands  which  will  by  that  time  be  cultivated  ; 
these  children  are  daily  offered  by  their  parents  to  your  pe- 
titioners to  be  instructed  and  brought  up  in  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. 

"  May  it  please  your  majesty  to  give  your  petitioners  means 
to  procure  books,  vestments,  utensils,  furniture,  provisions, 
and  funds  to  support  twelve  men  to  cultivate  their  land,  and  to 
supply  cattle  during  those  six  years  only.  As  regards  justice : 
It  is  highly  necessary  that  his  Majesty  allow  justice  to  be 
exercised  with  so  much  the  more  power  as  the  beginning  of 
settlements  is  more  important,  in  order  to  avoid  the  reproaches 
of  our  neighbors,  and  also  not  to  permit  that  under  his  Ma- 
jesty's authority  there  be  committed  thefts,  murders,  ass;issina- 
tions,  pillage,  blasphemy,  and  other  crimes,  already  kjo  fa- 
miliar among  some  settlers  in  that  country.  As  regards  de- 
fence:  May  it  please  your  Majesty  to  give  where ivith  to 
build  a  tower  at  Tadoussac,  which  is  the  only  binding  place 
for  vessels,  and  to  support  for  six  years  a  garrison  of  fifty  fit 
men  to  erect  and  hold  said  fort. 

"  Finally,  may  it  please  your  majesty  to  give  to  the  Sieur 
de  Champlain  from   his  arsenal  cannons,  powder,  and   muni- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  I  73 

tions,  and  to  increase  liis  authority  and  his  allowance  for  him- 
self and  his  family,  his  pay  of  two  hundred  crowns  being  in- 
sufficient for  such  a  support." 

The  King  was  then  engaged  in  conquering  the 
heretics,  from  whom  he  had  taken  St.  Jean 
d'Angely  and  sixty  of  their  best  places.  The 
great  enterprises  of  his  Majesty  against  these  rebels 
had  afterwards  still  greater  success,  but  the  junc- 
ture of  that  great  war  was  not  favorable  to  Ca- 
nadian affairs.  In  this  was  seen  the  King's  great 
piety,  his  goodness  for  New  France,  and  at  the 
same  time  Father  George's  great  credit  with  his 
Majesty,  for  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  prin- 
cipal articles  of  his  commission,'"*  and  besides 
some  very  advantageous  regulations  for  the  good 
of  the  colony ;  he  even  succeeded  in  consolidat- 
ing the  two  companies,  and  closed  their  disputes 
by  a  decree  of  the  Council  of  State,  so  that  the 
two  companies  now  became  one,  adopting  the 
same  interests. 

*  This  is  exaggerated.  He  obtained  an  Arret  of  the  Council  of  State, 
but  it  was  not  obeyed.  See  Faillon,  "  Histoire  de  la  Colonie,"  i.  p. 
199;  Ferland,  "  Cours  d'Histoire,"  i.  p.  201. 


174    FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

As  almost  all  the  things  which  were  regulated 
and  granted  would  require  long  and  tedious  dis- 
cussion, which  moreover  regards  chiefly  the  tem- 
poral establishment  of  the  country,  it  would  be 
tiresome  to  the  reader  to  insert  here  all  the  authen- 
tic acts  which  were  drawn  up,  the  letters  and  re- 
plies of  Father  George,  with  the  regulations  which 
he  addressed  to  Monsieur  de  Champlain  ;  they 
will  appear  better  and  more  agreeably  in  the  use 
and  application  which  will  be  made  of  them  for 
the  good  of  the  country  in  the  course  of  our 
history.  Father  George,  nevertheless,  yielded  to 
the  Duke  of  Montmorency's  solicitations  to  re- 
main in  France,  in  order  to  manage  the  affairs 
of  Canada  more  effectually  as  general  agent,  as 
Monsieur  de  Champlain  had  proposed  to  that 
nobleman  by  a  letter  which  he  had  the  honor  to 
write  him. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  NOVITIATE  AND  SEMINARY 
IN  NEW  FRANCE BAPTISM  OF  SOME  INDIANS IN- 
CURSION OF  THE  IROQUOIS,  AND  OTHER  DIFFER- 
ENT   INCirjENTS    IN    OUR    MISSIONS. 

^^HE  Superiors  of  the  province,  finding  them- 
^  selves  obliged  to  arrest  Father  George's  zeal 
and  prevent  his  return  to  Canada  for  the  good  of 
the  colony,  in  order  to  advance  its  interests  effec- 
tually, at  the  instance  of  the  Duke  de  Montmo- 
rency, they  cast  their  eyes  on  the  Reverend  Fa- 
thers Galleran  and  Iren?eus  Piat,  two  religious  of 
great  zeal ;  the  latter  was  living  not  more  than  fif- 
teen years  ago,  and  died  in  his  province,  loaded 
with  years  and  merits,  in  the  odor  of  sanctity.  Fa- 
ther William,  who  rendered  himself  estimable  not 
only  by  his  ability,  but  also  by  a  singular  gift  of 
prayer  and  contemplation  with  which  God   had  en- 


176  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

dowed  him,  had  offered  himself  the  previous  years, 
with  great  eagerness,  to  announce  the  Gospel  to 
these  savages,  and  satisfy  there,  if  possible,  his  vio- 
lent ardor  for  martyrdom.  This  grace  was  granted 
to  him  ;  and  as  Father  George,  Resident  of  the  mis- 
sion in  France,  had  persuaded  the  Definitory  to  es- 
tablish a  novitiate  at  Quebec  in  the  Convent  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  which  might  subsist  there 
with  the  Indian  seminary,  and  would  even  contri- 
bute greatly  to  the  edification  of  these  young  neo- 
phytes, the  province  chose  this  good  religious,  as  a 
man  full  of  grace,  light,  and  unction,  to  carry  for- 
ward the  seminary  and  lay  the  foundations  of  this 
first  novitiate,  so  that  to  his  institution  as  Superior 
was  added  a  special  power  authorizing  him  to  re- 
ceive to  our  holy  habit  not  only  the  French  who 
might  present  themselves  coming  from  the  world, 
but  also  the  Indians  of  our  seminary,  if  in  course  of 
time  they  could  be  made  good  enough  Christians 
to  hope  to  advance  them  to  evangelical  perfec- 
tion. 

Monsieur  de  Caen  prepared  all  for  the  voyage  at 


OF  THE  FAITH.  177 

Dieppe,  and  the  vessels  were  ready  to  start  in  May, 
1622.  Our  Fathers  embarked  and  weighed  anchor 
on  the  15th  of  said  month,  taking  with  them  some 
Frenchmen  full  of  piety  who  wished  to  follow 
them,  and  a  young  Indian  whom  Father  George 
had  brought  with  him  the  year  before  as  the  first 
fruits  of  our  seminary,  where  he  had  spent  seme 
months* 

While  all  these  things  were  passing  thus  in 
France,  Monsieur  de  Champlain  supported  himself 
as  best  he  might,  and  even  made  progress,  in 
Canada.  He  strengthened  himself  by  new  al- 
liances with  the  Indians,  the  Iroquois  alone  re- 
maining impenetrable  and  indocile.  This  fierce 
and  indomitable  nation,  which  had  long  designed 
either  to  destroy  or  to  subject  all  the  others,  per- 
ceiving that  these  received  their  principal  force 
from  the  French,  now  made  an  effort  by  a  pro- 
digious number  of  warriors,  divided  into  different 
corps  in  order  to  attack  on  all  sides. 

As  so  sudden  and  violent   an   irruption  was  not 

*  Sagaid,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  91-2. 


178  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

expected,  many  of  our  Frenchmen  had  scattered 
and  gone  up  trading  with  our  Indian  alHes  to  the 
Rapids,  now  called  Sault  St.  Louis.  Father  Wil- 
liam Poullain  had  offered  to  follow  them.  They 
were  attacked  by  an  Iroquois  party,  against  whom 
they  held  out  pretty  successfully  by  the  help  of 
their  firearms,  and  even  took  some  prisoners  ;  but 
Father  William,  who  was  in  a  canoe  apart,  hav- 
ing landed  with  one  Frenchman,  was  surprised  in 
the  woods  by  the  Iroquois.  This  good  religious 
bore  with  all  fortitude  and  patience  the  indigni- 
ties and  cruelties  of  these  savages ;  they  had  even 
already  begun  to  apply  him  to  the  fire  when  our 
people,  missing  the  Father,  sent  one  of  their  pri- 
soners to  treat  with  their  chiefs.  A  number  of 
the  Iroquois  who  had  been  taken  were  given  up, 
and  they  restored  to  liberty  the  Father  with  the 
Frenchmen  and  seven  other  Indians  of  our  allies. 
Tliis  great  servant  of  God  had  indeed  this  conso- 
lation, that  two  of  the  Iroquois  prisoners  who  re- 
mained in  our  hands  refused  in  the  sequel  to  re- 
turn  to   their   nation   and    joined    us.     They   were 


OF  THE  FAITH.  I  79 

instructed  in  Christianity,  and  even  served  us 
quite  usefully  afterwards  against  their  own  people."^^ 

The  country  is  divided  in  such  a  way  that  the 
Indians,  particularly  the  Iroquois,  find  many  routes, 
by  rivers  off  the  main  route,  not  only  to  escape 
from  us,  but  also  to  come  and  attack  us  in  our 
settlements.  This  in  the  beginning  rendered  de- 
fence difficult.  This  Indian  troop  joined  a  still 
greater  one,  which  cut  to  pieces  two  or  there 
Huron  parties,  and  soon  after  entered  the  St. 
Lawrence  with  thirty  canoes,  passed  Three  Rivers, 
and  to  our  surprise  appeared  near  Quebec. 

They  durst  not  approach  the  fort,  although  Mon- 
sieur de  Champlain  was  then  absent,  having  gone 
to  explore  the  country  while  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
the  vessels ;  but  these  savages,  after  several  unsuc- 
cessful attempts  on  the  French,  came  in  full  force 
to  attack  our  convent.  Fortunately,  a  little  fort 
had  been  completed  on  the  banks  of  the  riv^er  St. 


*  Champlain  and  Sagard  are  silent  as  to  these  Iroquois  hostilities. 
This  raises  some  doubt,  as  they  would  scarcely  omit  all  allusion  to  an 
attack  on  Quebec. 


l8o  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Charles.  The  house,  too,  was  some  defence.  On 
this  occasion  we  experienced  the  zeal  and  gratitude 
not  only  of  the  French,  l)ut  also  of  our  Indian  al- 
lies, who  flocked  to  our  assistance.  Some  of  ours 
received  arrow-wounds,  of  which  two  died  a  few 
days  after ;  and  a  servant  received  an  arrow  in  his 
arm,  which  was  not,  however,  attended  with  serious 
consequences.  These  savages,  having  lost  heart 
when  they  saw  seven  or  eight  of  their  men  killed  on 
the  spot,  vented  their  fury  on  two  Hurons,  on  v\iiom 
they  inflicted  the  most  cruel  of  all  tortures — putting 
them  to  death  by  a  slow  fire,  and  even  forcing  them 
to  eat  their  own  flesh,  which  was  more  than  half 
roasted.  They  completed  the  rest  of  their  cruelty 
in  the  wood  near  our  convent,  and  then  retired 
without  having  caused  us  any  great  loss. 

I  have  often  heard  this  adventure  related  by  Ma- 
dam Couillard,  who  was  then  in  the  fort,  where  she 
admired  the  visible  protection  of  God  over  Canada, 
ceitain  that,  had  those  savages  known  their  force, 
they  might  easily  have  ravaged  the  whole  colony  in 
the  absence  of  Monsieur  dc  Champlain. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  tSi 

The  Almighty,  who  never  forgets  his  own,  show- 
ed equal  protection  to  the  Httle  fleet  coming  from 
France.  I  wiU  not  dwell  here  on  the  many  dangers 
it  encountered  on  the  way,  not  only  from  storms 
and  tempests,  but  also  from  several  Rochelle  ships 
which  attacked  it,  and  from  which  it  happily  es- 
caped. 

I  shall  not,  however,  neglect  to  give  the  reader 
an  admirable  instance  of  God's  mercy  in  the  predes- 
tination of  his  elect.  It  appeared  strikingly  in  the 
case  of  the  young  Indian  with  whom  our  Fathers 
had  embarked  at  Dieppe  to  bring  him  to  Canada. 
Great  expectations  were  based  on  him  by  reason  of 
his  great  docility,  and  it  was  hoped  that  as  he  had 
been  shown  what  was  most  important  and  beautiful 
at  Paris  and  elsewhere,  and  the  most  holy  spots, 
he  would  be  of  great  aid  in  civilizing  the  little  In- 
dian^ at  our  seminary  or  some  other  mission,  and 
preparing  them  for  the  faith  ;  but  God  disposed 
otherwise,  perhaps  for  the  salvation  of  this  young 
Canadian.  He  fell  sick  soon  after  sailing,  and,  in 
the  different   fits  of  fever,   his  mind  was  affected. 


1 82  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

The  point  on  which  he  wandered  was  to  imagine 
that  all  had  conspired  his  death.  He  had  recourse 
to  none  but  our  Fathers.  At  the  least  movement 
made  by  the  pilot  or  sailors  he  believed  that  they 
were  going  to  throw  him  into  the  sea ;  he  imagined 
that  the  others  wished  to  assassinate  him,  and  that 
his  bread  and  food  were  poisoned.  Meanwhile  his 
bodily  disease  was  nearly  dispelled,  except  the  de- 
bility; he  had  lucid  intervals,  during  which  the  rays 
of  grace,  clearing  his  reason,  dispelled  gradually  the 
shades  of  infidelity  and  disposed  him  for  the  faith. 
God  especially  impressed  him  with  the  necessity 
of  holy  Baptism  ;  he  was  heard  complaining  night 
and  day  that  he  was  not  a  Christian :  "  Me,  why 
no  Christian  !     Me,  why  no  baptized  !  " 

He  earnestly  begged  it  of  Father  Irena^us,  who 
never  lost  sight  of  him  ;  he  would  not  eat  or  drink 
till  his  request  was  granted.  This  boy  had  talents ; 
he  even  spoke  and  understood  French  pretty 
well.  Perceiving  by  the  Father's  answers  that  he 
was  not  sufficiently  instructed  in  our  mysteries  to 
receive  baptism,  he  begged  to  be  taught  what  was 


OF  THE  FAITH.^  I  83 

necessary,  in  which  they  succeeded  by  means  of  an 
interpreter  who  happened  to  be  on  the  ship,  and  he 
was  then  baptized.  We  learn  by  the  letters  of  our 
religious  that  there  was  something  supernatural 
and  divine  in  the  sequel  of  this  baptism.  None  of 
those  present  after  this  saw  anything  savage  in  this 
Indian,  who  showed  an  enlightened  judgment,  an 
unbiassed  conception  for  all  religious  points,  great 
docility,  and  so  tender  a  devotion  that  he  yielded 
up  his  soul  to  his  Creator  full  of  reason  and  grace, 
of  which  he  gave  all  the  marks  in  this  extremity. 
His  burial  was  that  of  a  Christian  at  sea  :  Mass  was 
celebrated  in  thanksgiving  for  his  miraculous  con- 
version ;  he  was  neatly  swathed  and  the  burial  or- 
dered, which  was  performed  in  the  usual  way — that 
is,  attaching  two  cannon-balls  to  the  feet  and  slid- 
ing him  into  the  sea  at  the  sound  of  a  cannon, 
which  serves  as  a  bell  on  such  occasions.'"' 

This  precious  deposit  which  our  Fathers  and  all  on 
board  had  placed  in  heaven  was  not  useless  to  them. 
He  acted  as  their  intercessor  in  a  storm  which  sur- 

*  Sagard,    "  Histoire  du  Canada,"   pp.  93-4. 


1 84  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

prised  them  in  the  river,  accompanied  by  a  thick 
mist,  in  which  it  was  difficult  to  see  from  one  end 
of  the  vessel  to  the  other.  Father  Irenseus,  in  a 
letter  which  he  afterwards  wrote  to  Monsieur  de 
Boiies,  Vicar-General  of  Pontoise,  in  which  he  re- 
lates the  conversion  and  death  of  this  Indian,  sin- 
cerely acknowledges  that  they  were  all  in  extreme 
peril,  when  several  of  the  passengers  on  board  cried 
to  God  for  mercy,  and  begged  it  in  the  name  of 
that  soul  which  he  had  just  received.  Either  God 
had  regard  for  the  simplicity  of  their  faith  or  he 
received  the  intercession  of  that  glorious  soul,  for 
there  suddenly  appeared  in  the  evening  a  light  by 
which  they  saw  that  the  vessel  was  about  to  be 
wrecked  on  some  rocks  thirty  or  forty  leagues  from 
Tadoussac.  They  veered  off,  and,  keeping  from  the 
shore,  soon  after,  by  a  favorable  wind,  reached  the 
roadstead  of  Tadoussac. 

As  Father  Joseph  had  set  out  a  fortnight  before 
to  make  his  retreat  at  Quebec,  and  to  receive  or- 
ders on  the  new,  information  he  had  acquired,  the 
Father-Commissary  judged  proper  to  leave  Father 


OF  THE  FAITH.  185 

Irena:;us  there  while  he  pursued  his  way  to  Que- 
bec. He  arrived,  and  landed  first  at  our  hospice  in 
the  lower  town,  where  all  the  company  received 
him  with  an  extreme  joy.  Father  Irenaeus  follow- 
ed three  weeks  afterwards.  They  were  both  sur- 
prised to  find  a  house  so  far  advanced  as  that  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  the  grounds  and  garden 
ready,  and  even  a  little  solitude  cleared  with  devout 
little  cabins  in  the  woods,  where  our  Indians  were 
taken  as  to  stations,  and  of  which  the  sites  and  ves- 
tiges are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  grounds  which  we 
possess. 

Meanwhile  Father  Paul  Huet  had  gone  up  to 
Three  Rivers,  after  Father  Joseph's  arrival  at  Que- 
bec, to  administer  the  sacraments  to  the  French. 
There  he  had  the  consolation  of  learning,  by  a  let- 
ter of  the  Reverend  Father  William  Poullain  to  the 
Father-Commissary,  that,  after  escaping  from  the 
Iroquois,  he  had  perfectly  recovered  and  had  been 
able  to  go  on  with  the  four  French  canoes  to  the 
Nepisiriniens.  He  stated  that  the  Indians  whom 
he  had  found  on  the  way  had  appeared  to  him  tole- 


1 86  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

rably  docile  and  tractable,  and  that  if  they  could  be 
defended  from  the  incursions  of  the  Iroquois  by 
building  a  fort  there  for  their  defence,  they  might 
hope  one  day  to  make  some  Christians ;  that,  in 
accordance  with  the  regulations  and  resolutions 
adopted  in  France,  he  had  not  ventured  to  baptize 
adults,  but  that,  during  his  voyage  and  in  that 
place,  he  had,  since  his  departure,  baptized  more 
than  thirty  sick  persons,  infants  and  adults,  at  the 
point  of  death  ;  that  in  the  rencounters  they  fought 
an  Iroquois  party;  if  the  latter  had  the  advantage 
in  mortally  wounding  some  of  our  Indians,  it  was  a 
stroke  of  predestination  for  these  poor  men,  as  it 
procured  them  salvation  by  baptism.  He  then 
gives  an  account  of  a  little  Indian  girl  in  whom  he 
had  seen  something  miraculous.  She  was  twelve 
years  old,  and,  as  she  had  seen  the  ceremony  of  bap- 
tizing some  others,  she  wished  to  do  so  to  her  com- 
rades and  the  other  Indians  of  her  nation.  She 
learned  all  the  prayers  which  had  been  translated 
into  her  language  ;  she  recited  them  with  an  angelic 
memory,  showing  extreme  eagerness  for   baptism  ; 


OF    THE  FAITH  187 

and,  as  the  Father  always  refused,  she  made  her 
companions  sprinkle  water  on  her  and  apply  the 
ceremonies.  "  I  assure  you,  my  reverend  Father," 
says  he,  "  that,  had  I  not  been  prevented  by  the 
regulation  and  resolution  sent  from  France,  which, 
however,  I  find,  on  the  whole,  very  reasonable  for 
Indians  in  general,  I  would  have  granted  baptism  to 
this  young  child,  who  received  quite  well,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  the  instructions  which  I  gave  her  ; 
but,  as  she  belonged  to  parents  entirely  barbarous 
and  insensible  to  religion,  I  felt  that  it  would  be 
exposing  the  sacrament.  I  shall  see  hereafter 
whether  I  can  get  her  out  of  their  hands  and  take 
her  to  Quebec,  or,  at  least,  I  hope  that  God  in  some 
other  way  will  show  her  mercy."  "* 

The  Father-Commissary  did  not  find  such  happy 
dispositions  in  the  Indians  whom  they  were  then 
trying  to  settle  among  the  French,  or  who  cabined 
in  a  little  canton  around  Quebec,  nor  even  among 
the  few  whom  we  had  in    the  seminary,  the  fickle 

*  Father  PouUain  died  at  Chalons,  France,  March  12,  1634.  "  Mor- 
tuologe  des  Recollets,"  MS.     Tanguay,  "  Repertoire,"  p.  24. 


1 88  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

and  inconstant  mind  of  these  people  not  permitting 
them  to  remain  long  in  one  place.  Nevertheless, 
some  were  found  who  seemed  rational  enough. 
Two  marriages  even  were  celebrated  between 
Frenchmen  and  Indian  women  who  had  adopted 
our  language  and  manners,  and  wdio  afterwards  per- 
severed in  great  harmony,  peace,  and  union  with 
their  husbands. 

The  boys  were  more  wilful.  Hunting  and  the 
woodland  air  attracted  them,  so  that  it  was  difficult 
to  keep  them.  It  is  true  that,  had  what  was  then 
sketched  out  been  continued  till  now,  success 
would  have  followed,  and  these  Indian  nations 
would  perhaps  be  civilized,  as  we  see  that  among 
our  neighbors  of  New  England  and  New  Nether- 
land  our  Europeans,  though  heretics,  but  wiser 
than  we  in  this,  have  drawn  among  them  various 
Indian  tribes,  who  have  so  far  adopted  their  cus- 
toms that  they  are  brought  up  to  all  kinds  of  trades 
and  professions,  a  great  many  being  well-instructed 
Christians.  Some  even  serve  as  ministers  for  the 
instruction   of    the  others,  although   these   heretics 


OF  THE  FAITH.  .  1 89 

began  the  work  after  us.  So  that  we  may  well  fear 
that  God  will  one  day  reproach  the  French  on  this 
point,  that  the  children  of  darkness  are  more  pru- 
dent in  the  propagation  of  error  than  the  children 
of  light  in  the  true  conversion  of  souls.'^'" 

Our  Fathers,  who  had  then  all  power  and  credit 
in  the  missions,  did  not  despair  of  succeeding  in 
time  in  civilizing  some  of  these  Indians.  Their 
project  would  doubtless  have  had  all  the  success 
they  expected,  but  they  passionately  desired  to 
raise  some  and  instruct  them  sufficiently  in  the 
Faith  to  enable  them  to  receive  our  holy  habit,  hop- 
ing by  this  means  to  attract  other  Indians  to  come 
to  us  and  receive  our  instructions  more  joyfully 
when  they  saw  some  of  their  nation,  clothed  like 
us,  explaining  our  mysteries  to  them.  To  facilitate 
this  design  they  had  asked  power  to  open  a  novi- 
tiate. 

*  This  is  a  somewhat  exaggerated  account.  The  labors  of  Eliot, 
Mayhew,  and  others  in  New  England  had  i)roduced  beneficial  results; 
there  were  Indian  teachers,  and  a  few  learned  trades.  In  higher 
education  no  great  result  had  yet  been  obtained,  and  Eliot's  Indian 
printer  is  the  highest  exami)le.  In  New  Voik  nothing  had  at  this  time 
been  accomplished. 


IQO  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Providence  had  sent  us  a  young  man,  a  native  of 
Rouen,  named  Peter  Langoisseux,  who  had  given 
himself  freely  to  us,  and  who  for  three  years  had 
served  our  ministries  for  the  instruction  of  our  In- 
dians at  Three  Rivers.  He  had  long  pressed  us  to 
give  him  the  holy  habit,  and  as  he  was  known  and 
loved  by  the  Indians  of  the  country,  having  been 
adopted  by  the  chiefs  of  several  nations,  the  Father- 
Commissary  considered  this  vocation  as  a  particular 
conduct  of  God,  who  wished  to  favor  the  design  of 
our  zeal.  He  accordingly  received  him  into  the 
novitiate.  The  ceremony  of  his  clothing  took 
place  in  the  month  of  September,  1622,  in  our 
Church  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Governor,  all  the  French,  and  a  multitude 
of  Indians.  He  was  called  Brother  Charles,  from 
the  name  of  our  first  Father-Syndic,  whom  we  have 
mentioned.'^  At  the  same  time,  as  some  inhabi- 
tants were  moved  to  vow  their  children  to  our  Fa- 
ther,   St.  Francis,   it    was   deemed   right  to   second 

*  Sagard  mentions  Brother  Charles,  p.  loi,  but  sa^'s  nothinp:  of  the 
reception. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  191 

their  pietv.  Tlirec  of  these  children  were  vested 
with  the  little  habit,  which  contributed  not  a  little 
to  attract  the  savages,  who  asked  us  to  grant  the 
same  thing  to  their  children,  and  to  make  them 
Chitagons/'"  (so  some  of  these  savages  called  us,  on 
account  of  our  bare  feet).  This  first  novice  pur- 
sued his  novitiate.  He  will  make  his  profession 
and  serve  the  Indian  mission  most  usefully,  as  we 
shall  see  hereafter. 

Monsieur  de  Caen,  although  a  Huguenot,  was 
nevertheless  a  very  upright  man,  and  showed  con- 
sideration for  our  Fathers.  Persuaded  of  their  dis- 
interestedness in  seeking  only  God's  glory,  he  had 
Father  Irenasus  sent  to  Tadoussac  in  September 
last,  and  Father  Joseph  followed  some  months 
after. 

Father  Irenaeus,  who  was  young,  strong,  vigor- 
ous, and  zealous,  fulfilled  all  the  duties  of  a  perfect 
missionary.      He  had  acquired  from  Father  Joseph 

"*  This  is  Iroquois  or  Huron.  Osita  (foot  in  composition),  Bruyas, 
"  Racines,"  p.  28;  Ochida,  "  Onondaga  Diet.,"  p.  79;  Achita,  Sagaid, 
"Diet.  Iluronne";  Agon  (to  be  bare),  Bruyas,  p.  22  ;  Rossitagon  (he 
goes   barefoot)  ;     Hondachitagon  (they   go    barefoot). 


t 

192  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

a  tincture  of  their  language,  in  which  he  soon  made 
rapid  progress  by  famihar  intercourse  with  the 
Montagnais,  so  that  he  even  added  much  to  the 
dictionary  which  our  Fathers  arranged  after  enter- 
ing the  country.  He  had  the  consolation  of  send- 
ing some  Indians  to  heaven  after  administering 
baptism  to  them,  and  of  giving  others  some  light 
of  the  Faith  ;  but  he  had  also  the  deep  regret  of 
fniding  these  people  in  a  prodigious  darkness, 
caused  by  their  jugglery  and  superstitions.  Yet, 
animated  by  the  Spirit  of  God  and  jealously  pas- 
sionate for  the  Lord's  glory,  which  these  heathen 
so  openly  outraged,  he  endeavored  most  adroitly  to 
draw  them  away  from  these  unhappy  customs, 
which  are  their  resource  in  sickness.  He  found  an 
occasion  in  the  illness  of  the  brother  of  the  one 
who  had  adopted  him  and  supported  him  during 
his  wintering.  The  natural  affection  which  this 
Montagnais  had  for  the  sick  man  induced  him  to 
seek  a  remedy  by  all  the  simples,  which  they  know 
perfectly.  These  failing,  he  determined  to  consult 
the  oracle,  the  most   famous  juggler  of  the  nation. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  193 

He  called  him,  and  erected  in  the  middle  of  his 
cabin  a  kind  of  tower  with  posts  driven  into  the 
ground  and  covered  with  birch  bark  in  order  that 
in  this  little  dungeon,  full  of  shades  and  darkness, 
adorned  with  hideous  figures  representing  the  devil, 
he  might  learn  what  had  caused  his  brother's  ill- 
ness. The  medicine-man  entered  alone.  His  ges- 
tures, postures,  and  contortions  were  horrible  as  he 
invoked  his  Monitou  to  come  and  reveal  the  au- 
thor of  the  malady  of  our  Indian's  brother.  He 
struck  his  breast,  tore  his  face,  uttered  fearful  cries 
and  howls  amid  the  rattle  and  noise  of  a  kind  of 
tambourine.  The  earth  trembled  under  his  leaps 
and  bounds,  while  he  shook  with  his  hands  the 
posts  of  his  cabin  till  he  sweated  blood  and  water, 
without  taking  a  moment's  rest. 

At  last,  after  all  these  invocations,  this  accom- 
plished knave  decided  that  the  illness  had  been 
given  by  an  Indian  more  than  sixty  leagues  from 
the  cabin ;  and  as  if  this  imposture  had  been  the 
final  judgment  of  life  and  sentence  of  death  pro- 
nounced against  the  imaginary  author  of  the  mal- 


194  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

ady,  it  was  resolved  by  all  that  one  of  the  sick 
man's  brothers  should  set  off  at  once  to  kill  the 
person  who,  they  believed,  had  attempted  their 
brother's  life. 

This  pernicious  sentence  was  executed,  nor  was 
Father  Irenseus  able  to  save  the  life  of  an  Indian 
so  innocent  of  the  crime  imputed  to  him.  This 
cruelty  touched  him,  indeed,  and  compelled  him  to 
leave  that  cabin,  shaking,  as  the  Gospel  says,  the 
dust  from  his  feet,  to  go  to  others  more  tractable 
and  docile.  Yet  he  did  not  find  the  satisfaction  he 
expected.* 

Father  Joseph,  on  his  side,  labored  with  more 
patience,  having  learned  by  a  long  acquaintance 
with  these  savages  that  the  success  of  the  Gospel  is 
not  to  be  so  soon  expected  among  these  people. 
Father  Irenseus  hoped  to  make  them  enter  into 
themselves  by  leaving  them  for  a  time,  in  order  to 
make  them  recall  him.  In  fact,  the  Montagnais, 
moved  by  his  departure  and  conscious  of  the  rea- 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  i.  pp.  q7-99. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  I95 

son  why  he  would  not  return  to  them,  came  to 
Quebec,  with  presents  of  moose  tongues  and  muz- 
zles, to  induce  the  Father  to  continue  his  mission. 
The  protestations  made  by  these  Indians  that  they 
would  profit  by  his  instructions,  and  the  aversion 
they  pretended  for  their  superstitions  (saying  that 
they  had  had  no  sense  till  then  to  follow  the  coun- 
sel of  the  Monitou,  but  that  they  wished  in  earnest 
to  have  recourse  to  the  great  Master  who  made 
all),  touched  the  missionary's  heart  so  sensibly  that 
he  determined  to  make  a  second  excursion  as  he 
did  with  this  Montagnais,  but  it  was  not  happier 
than  the  first. 

This  great  religious,  known  in  the  province  as 
having  received  of  God  the  gift  of  tears,  groaned 
and  sighed  till  the  end  of  his  days,  employing  his 
fervent  prayers  and  sacrifices  to  obtain  of  God  in 
favor  of  these  savages  what  he  could  not  do  by  his 
words.  These  blinded  wretches  would  tell  him  that 
he  had  no  sense,  not  conceiving  the  secret  of  his 
intentions.  Some,  indeed,  were  touched,  and  this 
holy  man  afterwards  told   us  that  he   thought  he 


196  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

should  die  of  regret  on  this  excursion,  purely  on 
account  of  their  insensibility.  When  the  time  of 
returning  came  he  set  out  with  the  Indians  by  a 
fav^orable  wind,  but  as  it  became  contrary  they  were 
forced  to  land.  Here  they  made  a  vapor  bath  in 
the  manner  I  have  described  in  my  "  Relation  of 
Gaspe."^- 

In  this  cabin,  then,  after  sweating  amid  the  usual 
songs  and  entertainments,  they  began  to  invoke 
their  Manitou  in  order  to  have  a  suitable  and 
favorable  wind. 

Two  young  men  whom  they  had  placed  as  sen- 
tinels interrupted  the  jugglery,  crying  with  all  their 
might  that  the  wind  had  changed.  All  rejoiced, 
telling  the  Father  that  it  was  not  his  Jesus  who  had 
given  them  so  favorable  a  wind,  but  that  they  had 
obtained  it  of  their  Manitou. 

God,  who  is  jealous  of  his  glory  and  honor,  was 
not  slow  in  avenging  the  Father,  for  they  were 
scarcely  embarked  when  the  air  was  troubled,  the 

*  Le  Clercq,  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  511-3. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  I97 

thunder  rolled,  and  there  suddenly  arose  so  violent 
a  tempest  that  it  was  only  by  a  wonder  that  they 
were  not  all  swallowed  up.  God  delivered  them 
from  ruin  by  permitting  them  to  land.  This  gave 
the  Father  occasion  to  remonstrate  strongly  and 
catechise  them  well  by  reflections  on  the  danger 
which  they  had  just  escaped,  endeavoring  to  lead 
them  to  a  knowledge  of  a  first  principle  by  ordi- 
nary and  common  reasons,  and  that  God  alone  dis- 
posed of  all  things,  that  he  was  master  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  that  in  all  their  needs  they  should 
invoke  him  alone.  You  have  had  recourse,  said 
he,  to  your  Manitou  to  have  a  favorable  wind,  and 
he  has  given  you  a  contrary  one.  He  has  deceived 
you  and  exposed  you  to  danger  of  perishing.  It  is 
just  now  that  we  invoke  the  good  Jesus,  who  will 
hearken  to  your  desires,  if  you  invoke  him  with  all 
your  heart.  These  brutal  men,  incapable  of  these 
familiar  reasonings,  nevertheless  made  the  outer 
semblance  of  Christians,  consenting  to  what  the 
Father  told  them,  prostrating  themselves  like  him 
to    adore    God,   but  without  any  sentiment  of  re- 


198    FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

ligion.     The  weather  beeame    calm,  and    they   ar- 
rived safely  at  Quebec.* 

Father  Joseph  meanwhile  remained  at  Tadous- 
sac,  now  at  the  trading-post  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ments to  the  French,  now  following  the  Indians 
with  an  invincible  perseverance.  Amid  the  sterili- 
ty and  little  success  of  his  labors  he  always  regret- 
ted his  Huron  mission  and  sighed  to  return  to  it  ; 
but,  sacrificing  all  his  inclinations  to  obedience,  he 
devoted  himself,  with  a  pleasure  and  inclination  of 
pure  grace,  to  the  mission  of  Tadoussac,  God  giv- 
ing him  from  time  to  time,  amid  infinite  disgust 
and  toil,  extraordinary  consolations,  as  he  wrote  to 
one  of  his  friends  in  France,  in  the  hope  that  the 
time  would  come  to  civilize  these  barbarians  and 
open  their  eyes  to  the  light  of  the  Gospel.  This 
holy  religious,  who  was  a  man  of  great  penetration, 
draws  in  his  letter  the  true  portrait  of  the  Mon- 
tagnais,  as  they  are  still,  just  as  brutal,  just  as  in- 
sensible, always  nomadic,  vagabond,  and  incapable 
of  Christianity. 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  dn  Canada,"  pp.  106-111. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DEATH    OF    A    RECOLLECT    IN    THE     MLSSION     OF    ACA- 

DL\ ARRIVAL    OF    NEW    MISSIONARIES    AT  QUEBEC 

HAPPY      PROGRESS     OF     THE     HURON     MISSION 

STATE     OF    THOSE    OF    THE     NYPISIRINIENS,    THREE 
RIVERS,   AND    TADOUSSAC. 

/^UR  ancient  Recollect  Fathers  of  the  province 
^-^^  of  Aquitaine,  to  whom  the  members  of  the 
Company  first  applied  in  1615,  in  order  to  give 
evangelical  laborers  to  Canada,  finding  different  ob- 
stacles, as  we  have  said,  did  not  for  all  that  lose  the 
good-will  and  desire  they  entertained  of  going  to 
share  the  apostolic  labors  of  the  Recollects  of  the 
province  of  Paris.  They  found  a  very  favorable 
opportunity  in  the  associations  made  at  Bordeaux 
in  1 6 19,  one  for  sedentary  fisheries,  the  other  for 
the  fur  trade. 

The  members  of  the  Company  had  treated  with 
the  king  for  all  the  continent  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  north  and  south  to  the 


200  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

end  of  the  country.  Acadia  is  a  vast  province, 
containing  many  different  nations  of  Indians.  This 
country  had  been  always  reserved,  and  was  not 
comprised  in  the  treaty.  It  is  not  my  plan  to  add 
here  all  the  circumstances  of  these  two  little  com- 
panies formed  at  Bordeaux,  more  especially  as 
there  was  nothing  important  about  them,  being 
mere  associations  of  merchants,  Catholic  and  Hu- 
guenot. Our  Fathers  of  Aquitaine  did  not  neglect 
the  occasions  which  offered.  These  gentlemen 
asked  three  priests  and  a  brother,  promising  to  sup- 
port them  as  long  as  their  society  lasted.  They 
accordingly  went  and  began  a  kind  of  sedentary 
mission  there.  In  1623  these  Fathers  had  for  four 
years  cultivated  with  great  success  this  vineyard  of 
the  Lord,  of  wdiich  they  have  given  an  ample  Re- 
lation to  the  public,  to  which  I  will  add  nothing.""' 
The  Reverend  Father  Sebastian   had  labored  there 

*  Many  3-eais'  search  has  failed  to  discover  the  work  here  vague- 
ly alluded  to.  The  Public  Library  at  Bordeaux  has  no  history,  manu- 
script or  printed,  of  the  Recollects  of  the  province  of  Aquitaine,  and 
the  Abbe  Compans,  secretary  to  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Donnet, 
kindl)'  informs  me  that  the  archives  of  the  archbishopric  give  no  clue 
to  the  work  or   the  labors  of  the  friars. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  20I 

for  three  3^ears  when,  in  1623,  we  learned  at  Que- 
bec by  two  Indians  the  news  of  his  death.  This 
ofood  reh2:ious  had  started  from  Miscou  for  St. 
John's  River,  where  the  chief  mission  of  the  Re- 
collects of  his  province  had  been  established.  He 
was  overcome  by  misery  and  fatigue  while  travers- 
ing the  woods  and  the  great  extent  of  country 
between  Miscou  and  Port  Royal,  so  that  he  per- 
ished of  hunger  after  having  holily  exercised  the 
apostolic  ministry  in  the  conversion  of  infidels.  As 
he  had  visited  our  Fathers  at  Quebec  and  wintered 
there,  our  religious  considered  him  in  esteem  and 
affection,  as  a  member  of  our  mission,  and  offered 
the  usual  suffrages  for  him  at  the  Convent  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Angels. 

Our  Father-Commissary  and  the  religious  had 
sent  to  France  by  the  vessels  of  the  previous  year 
all  necessary  information  as  to  the  state  and  wants 
of  all  the  missions,  chiefly  to  Father  George  le 
Baillif,  their  agent  and  procurator  in  France,  who 
used  his  influence  at  court  to  advance  God's  glory 
in  our  missions,  and  who  had  in  the  winter  of   1623 


202  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

obtained  of  the  king  letters-patent  in  form,  sealed 
and  registered,  first,  for  our  land  and  Convent  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  including  two  hundred 
arpents  of  land  from  St.  Charles  River  to  the  top 
of  the  mountain  in  the  direction  of  Our  Lady  of 
Foi  '^'  and  the  place  now  called  Pointe  aux  Lievres 
on  the  Quebec  side,  in  order  to  favor  the  education 
of  Indian  children  in  the  seminary  and  form  their 
parents,  who  resided  near  the  convent,  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil.  He  had  also  obtained  dona- 
tions of  sufficient  land  for  the  missions  at  Three 
Rivers,  Tadoussac,  and  the  Hurons  by  the  king's 
authority,  added  in  confirmation  to  that  of  the 
Company,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  render  these  es- 
tablishments perpetual  for  God's  glory. 

This  o;ood  Father,  who  forgot  nothing  that  could 
be  proper,  also  obtained,  by  means  of  his  friends, 
several  church  vestments  and  other  necessary  aid. 
The  Nuncio  even  contributed,  but,  above  all,  the 
Queen-Mother,     Anne    of     Austria,    who,    among 

*  Notre  Dame  de  Fo^e,  now  called  Ste.  Foi,  near  Oiiebec.  See 
Shea's  "  Charlevoix,"  iii.  p.  I54- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  203 

Other  ]:)resents,  gave  a  complete  chapel,  of  which 
the  chalice,  of  silver-gilt,  marked  with  her  Majes- 
ty's arms,  is  still  preserved  in  our  chapel  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Angels  as  a  sacred  monument  of  the 
piety  of  that  great  princess. 

As  Father  George  had  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
mission,  the  Superiors  left  to  him  the  choice  of  the 
proper  persons  to  be  sent  out  this  year,  1623.  It 
was  known  by  experience  that  as  the  chief  matter 
was  civilizing  the  Indians  and  disposing  them  for 
the  light  of  the  Gospel,  lay  Brothers  were  not  mere- 
ly not  useless,  but  of  great  service  and  fit  associates 
in  the  apostolic  ministry.  Brother  Gabriel  Sagar'"'" 
was  accordingly  named.  Father  Nicholas  Viel,  who 
had  for  the  last  three  years  made  great  entreaties  to 
go,  received  permission  at  Montargis.  They  pre- 
pared for  their  departure,  and,  after  receiving  the 
blessing  of  the  Nuncio  and  their  Superiors,  they 
set  out  from  Paris  on  the  i8th  of  March,  1623,  and 
embarked   at    Dieppe  in   the   beginning   of  April 

*  Sagard,  author  of  the  "Grand  Voyage  au  Pays  des  Hurons"  and 
of  the  "Histoire  du  Canada,"  Paris,  1636. 


204  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Their  voyage  had  no  mishap,  and  they  arrived  at 
Quebec  on  the  fifty-fifth  day  of  their  navigation."" 
This  addition  of  missionaries  came  seasonably 
for  the  embassy  that  Monsieur  de  Champlain 
wished  to  send  to  the  Hurons,  fearing  lest  their 
zeal  for  the  French  should  cool  and  they  make  an 
alHance  with  our  enemies.  Father  Joseph  had 
obtained  leave  to  return  there  to  visit  this  rising 
church  which  owed  its  first  establishment  to  him. 
Father  Nicholas  and  Brother  Gabriel,  both  full  of 
fire  and  charity,  earnestly  begged  to  be  sent  with 
him,  which  could  not  be  refused.  They  embarked, 
accordingly,  in  the  Company's  sloop  as  far  as  Three 
Rivers,  where  our  missionary  received  them  with 
joy  and  led  them  to  the  cabins  of  the  Indians, 
where  prayers  were  said.  Two  days  after  they 
pursued  their  way  in  canoes  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose. Monsieur  de  Champlain  gave  them  eleven 
Frenchmen,  which  was  a  considerable  number  in 
these  beginnings,  to  support  and  defend  the  Hu- 

*  Tliey  arrived   June   28.      Sagard,  pp.  159-60;  Laverdiere's  Cham- 
plain, 1632,  vi.  p.  5g. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  205 

rons.  Our  Fathers  took  two  donnes"^  with  them  ; 
the  rest  were  Indians,  our  neighbors,  accustomed 
to  firearms,  aheady  moderately  instructed  and  trust- 
worthy. They  had  no  mishap,  and  arrived  safe- 
ly at  the  Hurons,  where  they  found  five  or  six 
Frenchmen  still  living  with  those  savages,  f 

Although  the  Indians  are  not  animated  by  any 
principle  of  religion,  it  is  impossible  to  express 
their  joy  on  seeing  Father  Joseph  again,  coming  to 
visit  them  with  two  of  his  brethren,  according  to  his 
promise  on  leaving  them. 

He  found  his  old  cabin  or  habitation,  J  which  the 
French  had  used  in  his  absence.  It  was  on  a  little 
hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  ran  a  pleasant  stream. 
This  house,  which  was  pretty  neatly  restored,  was 
twenty-five  feet  long  and  twelve  or  fifteen  wide,  in 

*  Zealous  men  who  gave  themselves  for  mission  work. 

f  Sagard  reached  the  Huron  country  St.  Bernard's  day,  Aug.  20, 
and  soon  after  arrived  at  Tequeunoikuaye,  or  Quieuindohian,  called 
by  the  French  Rochelle  and  by  the  missionaries  St.  Gabriel.  It  was 
afterwards  called  Ossosane,  and  by  the  Jesuits  Conception.  Laver- 
diere's  Champlain  (1619),  iv.  p.  2S  ;  (1632)  vi.  p.  250;  ''Grand  Voy- 
age," p.  83. 

X  At  Ouieunonascaran.     Sagard,  "  Ilistoire,"  p.  2iS. 


2o6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  form  of  an  arbor,  covered  outside  with  bark  and 
Hned  within  with  pieces  of  wood,  which  they  used 
also  to  divide  it  into  three  rooms.  The  first  near 
the  door  was  their  kitchen,  dormitory,  and  room  to 
receive  and  entertain  the  Indians  who  came  to  be 
instructed  in  the  Prayer.  The  second  was  the  refec- 
tory, where  they  kept  their  food,  utensils,  and  other 
things  necessary  for  their  use.  The  third,  where 
there  was  erected  an  altar  of  pieces  of  wood  and 
little  cedar  boards,  which  the  Indians  had  very 
neatly  trimmed,  served  as  the  chapel,  where  holy 
Mass  was  daily  said  for  the  spiritual  consolation  of 
the  French  and  the  edification  of  the  Indians,  who 
loved  our  ceremonies.  These  missionaries  recited 
the  Divine  Office  in  common,  as  if  they  had  been 
in  a  regular  convent,  whenever  they  were  together 
— for  they  often  were  out  discharging  the  various 
functions  of  their  ministry  with  the  savages."^" 
The  religious  simplicity  with  which  one  of  these 


*  Sagard,  '  Histoire,"  pp.  223-4  J  "  Grand  Voyage,"  pp.  98-100. 
This  was  the  second  chapel  in  the  Huron  country,  the  first  having  been 
at  Toenchain.    Jb. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  207 

missionaries  describes   their   mode    of  life  in    the 
country  of  these  savages  is  most  edifying : 

"We  took  our  meals,"  says  he,  ''on  a  rush  mat 
on  the  ground.  A  billet  of  wood  was  our  pillow 
by  night,  our  cloaks  a  blanket  in  default  of  the 
one  which  we  had,  out  of  charity,  given  to  the  sick 
Indians.  The  ground  or  our  knees  was  our  table, 
not  like  the  Indians,  who  sit  on  the  ground  like 
monkeys,  for  we  sat  on  logs,  our  ordinary  chairs. 
We  had  no  napkins  to  wipe  our  hands  but  leaves 
of  Indian  corn.  We  had,  indeed,  some  knives, 
but  they  were  not  at  all  necessary  at  our  meals, 
having  no  bread  to  cut.  Meat,  too,  was  so  rare 
with  us  that  we  often  passed  six  weeks  or  two 
whole  months  without  tasting  a  bit,  unless  a  small 
piece  of  dog,  bear,  or  fox,  given  to  us  in  banquets, 
except  at  Easter-time  and  in  autumn,  when  our 
Frenchmen  gave  us  abundantly  from  their  hunt- 
ing. 

"  Our  ordinary  food  was  that  of  the  Indians — 
that  is  to  say,  sagamity,  made  of  meal  of  Indian 
corn,  boiled  in  water,  squashes,  and^,peas,lnto  which. 


2o8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

to  give  it  some  flavor,  we  put  marjoram,  purslain,  and 
a  kind  of  balsam,  with  wild  onions  which  we  found 
in  the  woods  and  fields.  Our  drink  was  the  water 
of  the  stream  which  ran  at  the  foot  of  our  house  ; 
and  if,  when  the  trees  were  in  sap,  any  one  was  un- 
well or  felt  any  weakness  in  the  stomach,  we  made 
an  incision  in  the  bark  of  a  maple,  which  distilled 
a  sugary  water  that  was  gathered  in  bark  trays,  and 
which  was  drunk  as  a  sovereign  remedy,  though 
in  truth  its  effects  were  not  very  great* 

"When  the  wine  which  we  had  brought  from 
•Quebec  in  a  little  barrel  of  twelve  quarts  failed,  we 
made  some  of  wild  grapes  which  was  very  good. 
We  put  it  in  our  little  keg  and  in  two  bottles  which 
we  had  for  our  use  ;  a  wooden  mortar  and  one  of 
the  chapel  towels  served  as  a  press.  The  vat  was  a 
bark  bucket,  which,  being  too  small  to  hold  all  our 
wine,  obliged  us,  to  prevent  losing  the  surplus,  to 
make  resine  of  it,  which  was  almost  as  good  as  that 
made  in  France,  and  on  which  we  regaled  ourselves 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  226-7  i  "  Grand  Voyage/'  p. 
102. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  209 

on  holidays  and  to  welcome  Frenchmen  who  came 
to  trade  with  the  Indians.* 

"The  candles  we  used  were  only  little  rolls  of 
bark,  which  lasted  but  a  moment,  so  that  we  were 
obliged  to  read  and  write  by  the  light  of  the  fire 
during  the  winter  evenings,  which  was  a  great  in- 
convenience to  us.  f 

"  Although  the  ground  near  our  house  was  sterile 
and  sandy,  we  nevertheless  made  a  little  garden, 
enclosed  by  good  palisades  to  prevent  the  free  ac- 
cess of  the  Indian  children.  Peas,  herbs,  and  the 
seeds  of  various  vegetables  which  we  planted  suc- 
ceeded very  well.  We  should  doubtless  have  had 
a  great  abundance  had  the  ground  been  properly 
tilled,  having  been  obliged  to  use  an  old  axe  for  a 
spade  and  a  pointed  stake  as  our  only  agricultural 
implements." 

Father  Nicholas  wrote  in  nearly  the  same  terms 
to  the  Father-Commissary  at  Quebec,  adding  that 
all  that  consoled  them  in  so  painful  a  life  was  the 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  227  ;  "Grand  Voyage,"  p.  103. 
f  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  226  ;  "  Grand  Voyage,"  p.  loi. 

14 


2IO  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

hope  of  one  day  seeing  the  Faith  of  Christ  planted 
in  all  those  vast  provinces  by  the  blessings  which 
God  would  give  their  labors ;  that  these  nations 
showed  them  some  desire  of  being;  instructed  in  our 
mysteries,  coming  attentive  and  very  assiduous  to 
prayers,  although  they  did  not  yet  remark  in  them 
sufficient  openness  of  mind  to  enter  into  the  truths 
of  religion,  and  that  some  even  came  to  instruction 
only  from  interested  motives  and  to  get  knives, 
beads,  and  the  like  from  our  religious. 

Thus  they  spent  the  winter,  though  with  little 
progress  for  the  conversion  of  these  savages ;  but 
they  gained  some  families  whom  they  found  better 
disposed,  more  docile  and  tractable,  to  induce  them 
to  sfo  down  to  Quebec  and  live  with  the  French  or 
cabin  on  our  ground.  They  baptized  only  two 
adults,  a  father  and  daughter,  of  whom  they  seem- 
ed more  assured.  As  it  had  been  resolved  that 
they  would  not  abandon  this  mission,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  make  it  a  central  establishment, 
whence  religious  should  spread  to  neighboring  na- 
tions.    They  merely  prepared  this  vineyard  of  the 


OF  THE  FAITH.  211 

Lord,  the  care  of  which,  after  ten  months'  resi- 
dence, was  left  by  Fathers  Joseph  and  Gabriel  Sa- 
gar  to  Father  Nicholas.  They  had  perfected  the 
dictionary  of  the  Huron  language,  and,  as  a  large 
fleet  of  canoes  was  ready.  Father  Nicholas  was 
appointed  to  watch  over  this  little  church  with  the 
Frenchmen  who  remained ;  the  other  two  went 
down  to  Quebec. 

Father  Joseph  had  borne  the  chief  part  in  this 
little  embassy  w^hich  Monsieur  de  Champlain  had 
sent  to  these  nations,  of  whom  he  obtained  all  that 
he  could  expect;  so  that  in  the  spring  of  1624 
sixty  canoes,  loaded  with  beaver  and  other  furs, 
and  two  hundred  Indians,  were  ready  to  start. 
They  delayed,  nevertheless,  till  the  month  of  June, 
waiting  for  Father  Joseph,  whom  they  insisted  on 
taking  as  the  person  in  whom  they  had  most  confi- 
dence with  the  French.  His  presence,  too,  was 
necessary  at  Quebec  to  make  a  faithful  report  of 
the  state  of  these  missions  and  resolve  with  our 
Fathers  what  would  be  most  expedient  for  God's 
glory  and   the    salvation  of   these    nations.      The 


212  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

general  rendezvous  for  the  trade  was  at  Three 
Rivers,  where  Monsieur  de  Champlain  had  also  in- 
vited the  Iroquois  to  send  their  deputies.  They 
came  in  twenty-five  canoes  loaded  with  furs.  Fa- 
rther Joseph,  on  the  advice  of  Monsieur  de  Cham- 
plain,  had  sent  two  Frenchmen  to  the  Nipissiniens 
and  other  neighboring  nations  to  obtain  deputa- 
tions in  form.  These  Indians  came  down  at  the 
same  time  as  the  Hurons  and  Iroquois  to  the  num- 
ber of  thirteen  canoes. 

Never  had  there  been  seen  till  then  a  concourse 
of  so  many  different  nations.  Yet  there  was  no 
trouble,  so  clear  were  the  orders  given  by  Monsieur 
de  Champlain.  There  were  interpreters  for  each; 
all  the  ordinary  ceremonies  were  made — the  kettle 
of  peace,  presents,  feasts,  dances — on  the  part  of 
these  nations,  to  which  the  French  responded  in 
like  manner.  At  last  the  much-desired  peace  was 
concluded  between  the  Iroquois  and  the  French 
with  the  Hurons  and  our  other  allies. 

Nothing  better  could  be  desired  for  the  establish- 
ment  of  the   Faith   than    this   tranquillity  of   the 


OF  THE  FAITH.  213 

country  and  this  general  peace  between  these  dif- 
ferent nations.  Our  Fathers  accordingly  seemed 
to  revive  and  resume  new  hopes ;  they  began  to 
give  greater  extent  to  their  design  and  count  on 
some  success,  if  they  were  fortunate  enough  to  ob- 
tain a  greater  number  of  evangelical  laborers  to  an- 
nounce the  Gospel.  Father  Joseph  descended  to 
Quebec  with  his  little  conquests,  which  consisted 
of  some  Huron  families."^  Our  other  missionaries 
had  also  gained  some,  so  that  the  environs  of  Que- 
bec were  peopled  with  Indians  of  different  coun- 
tries, whom  they  were  trying  their  best  to  form 
after  the  French  manner.  I  have  thought  that  the 
reader  would  be  glad  to  see  here  a  natural  portrait 
of  the  general  disposition  of  the  Indians,  such  as  I 
have  found  it  in  the  fragments  of  the  memoirs 
which  the  Superior  of  the  mission  sent  to  the  Reve- 
rend Father-Provincial  in  France  this  present  year, 
1624  : 


*Sagard,  "Histoire,"  pp.  790,  835  ;  "Grand  Voyage,"  336,  375. 
Sagard  gives  no  dates  and  relates  onl}-  his  personal  adventures.  He 
reached  Quebec  July  16, 1624.    Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  p.  80. 


214  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

FRAGMENTS    OF    THE  MEMOIRS  OF    FATHER 
JOSEPH  LE  CARON, 

Addressed  to  France   on    the  Disposition^  Character,   Supersti- 
tions, Good  and  Bad  Qualities  of  the  Indians. 

"  Father : 

''  As  you  are  curious  about  the  natural  affairs  of  this  coun- 
try, and  still  more  about  what  concerns  the  conversion  of  souls, 
and  you  ask  me  some  account  of  both,  I  have  deemed  it 
proper  not  to  mingle  sacred  and  profane,  but  am  obliged  to 
separate  the  two  subjects  in  two  different  answers. 

"  I  sliall  not  give  you  much  satisfaction  by  a  great  number 
of  souls  converted.  Few  real  conversions  are  made  among 
our  Indians  ;  the  time  of  grace  is  not  yet  come,  although 
nothing  is  spared  to  dispose  them  for  the  Faith.  It  must  be 
hoped  that  as  the  colony  is  peopled  we  shall  civilize  the  In- 
dians. This  is  necessary  first  ;  their  mind  will  oi)en  and  their 
good  sense,  of  which  they  have  the  base.  They  will  be  regu- 
lated by  French  laws  and  modes  of  living,  in  order  to  render 
them  capable  of  understanding  such  profound  mysteries;  for 
all  that  concerns  humane  and  civil  life  is  a  mystery  for  our 
Indians  in  their  present  state,  and  it  will  require  more  ex- 
pense and  toil  to  render  them  men  than  it  has  required  to 
make  whole  nations  Christian.  It  does  not  follow  that  the 
work  must  be  abandoned  ;  on  the  contrary,  we  must  apply 
ourselves  tlie  more  steadily  and  await  the  fruit  in  patience. 

"  We  must,  then,  await  from  God  the  dew  and  blessing  of 
his  grace,  which  so  many  holy  souls  in  Old  and  New  France 
will  perhaps  advance  by  their  prayers,  and  meanwhile  labor 
to  remove  all  obstacles  to  their  conversion  that  arise  on  the 


OF   THE  FAITH.  215 

side  of  our  Indians.  We  continually  send  to  heaven  a  great 
many  infants  and  some  dying  adults  whom  God  touches  in 
this  extremity,  and  who  are  baptized  without  difficulty.  But 
for  the  rest  there  is  little  good  to  be  done.  When,  then,  you 
ask  relations,  God  forbid  that,  to  satisfy  your  piety,  I  spread 
before  you  a  numerous  Christianity,  existing  only  in  our  desires 
and  in  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  word,  which  sprouts  but  feebly. 
God  would  not  be  glorified  by  falsehood  and  imposture.  The 
success  of  tlie  work,  all  know,  depends  on  him  and  not  on  us. 
Our  church  is  as  yet  but  the  little  flock  of  the  Gospel — '  pusil- 
lus  grex '  ;  but  considering  the  multitude  of  these  savage 
nations,  you  will  not  be  surprised  at  our  slow  progress  when 
you  are  informed  of  the  almost  invincible  obstacles  presented 
on  their  part  to  the  Gospel.  I  will  give  you  but  a  sketch  of 
them,  having  already  sent  so  many  memoirs  to  France. 

**We  have  thus  far  traversed  more  than  six  hundred 
leagues  inland,  and  even  wintered  several  years  with  the  prin- 
cipal nations.  They  do  not  lack  good  sense  in  what  concerns 
the  public  or  private  interest  of  the  nation  ;  they  reach  their 
end,  and  even  adopt  very  fit  means  and  measures  ;  and  it 
is  the  subject  of  my  surprise  that,  being  so  enlightened  for 
their  petty  affairs,  they  have  nothing  but  what  is  extravagant 
and  ridiculous  when  you  treat  of  religious  dogmas  or  rules 
of  morality,  laws,  and  maxims.  We  have  visited  eight  or  ten 
different  nations  down  the  river  towards  Tadoussac,  and  we 
have  found  that  almost  all  the  Indians  of  Ne^v  France  ac- 
knowledge no  divinity,  and  are  even  incapable  of  ordinary 
common  and  natural  reasonings  on  this  point,  so  material  and 
benighted  is  their  intellect.  Nevertheless,  amid  their  blind- 
ness we  discover  some  confused    sentiments  of   the    Deity  : 


I 

2l6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

some  acknowledge  the  sun,  others  a  genius  who  rules  in  the 
air  ;  others  regard  the  heavens  as  a  divinity,  others  a  Monitou, 
good  or  bad.  The  nations  up  the  river  seem  to  have  a  uni- 
versal, spirit  that  rules  everywhere;  they  generally  imagine 
that  there  is  a  spirit  in  everything,  even  in  those  which  are  in- 
anim;ite,  and  they  sometimes  address  them  to  conjure  them. 
Yet  these  nations  do  not  acknowledge  any  kind  of  divinity  in 
a  spirit  of  religion,  but  only  by  way  of  fable,  prevention,  ca- 
price, or  obstinacy  ;  they  have  not  even  exteriorly  any  cere- 
mony for  their  worship — no  sacrifice,  temple,  priest,  or  other 
mark  of  religion. 

"  Dreams  take  the  place  of  prophecy,  inspiration,  laws, 
commandment,  and  govern  their  enterprises  in  war  and 
peace,  in  trade,  fishing,  and  hunting.  It  is,  indeed,  a  kind  of 
oracle.  You  would  say  that  they  are  of  the  sect  of  the  Illu- 
minati.  This  idea  impresses  on  them  a  kind  of  necessity,  be- 
lieving that  it  is  a  universal  spirit  that  commands  them,  so  far 
even  that  if  it  orders  them  to  kill  a  man  or  commit  any  other 
bad  action  they  execute  it  at  once.  Parents  dream  for  their 
children,  captains  for  villages.  They  have  also  men  who  in- 
terpret and  explain  their  dreams. 

"  We  remark  that  when  there  is  any  rapid  difiicult  to  pass, 
any  peril  to  avoid,  they  throw  in  the  very  place  a  beaver  robe, 
tobacco,  wampum,  and  other  things  by  way  of  sacrifice  to 
conciliate  the  good-will  of  the  spirit  who  presides  there. 

"  They  commonly  believe  a  kind  of  creation  of  the  world, 
saying  that  heaven,  earth,  and  men  were  made  by  a  woman, 
who  with  her  son  governs  the  world;  that  this  son  is  the 
principle  of  all  good  things,  and  that  this  woman  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  all  evil.     They  believe  that  both  enjoy  all  pleasures  ; 


OF  THE  FAITH.  217 

that  this  woman  fell  pregnant  from  heaven,  and  that  she  was 
received  on  the  back  of  a  tortoise,  which  saved  her  from 
drowning.  If  you  make  nny  objection  on  the  absurdity  of 
this  idea  they  answer  that  this  is  good  for  us  and  not  for 
them. 

"Others*  believe  that  a  certain  being  that  they  call  Ata- 
hauta  is  the  creator  of  the  world,  and  that  a  being  called 
Messou  restored  it  after  the  deluge — thus  falsifying  and  con- 
founding by  their  tradition  the  knowledge  which  their  ances- 
tors had  of  the  universal  deluge.  They  say  that  as  Messou 
was  one  day  going  to  hunt,  his  dogs  were  lost  in  a  great  lake, 
which,  overflowing,  covered  the  wliole  earth  in  a  short  time 
and  made  all  the  world  an  abyss  ;  that  this  Messou,  by  means 
of  some  animals,  gathered  a  little  earth,  which  he  used  to  re- 
store the  world.  As  they  believe  that  the  French  live  in  a 
different  world  from  theirs,  when  we  wish  to  disabuse  them  of 
their  folly  by  telling  the  real  creation  and  restoration  they 
say  that  this  seems  to  be  true  of  the  world  we  inhabit,  but  not 
of  theirs.  They  often  ask  even  whether  there  is  a  sun  and 
moon  in  Europe,  as  in  their  country. 

"  It  is  deplorable  to  see  with  how  many  chimeras  the  devil 
confuses  their  mind.  Although  they  imagine  all  souls  corporal, 
understanding  by  their  Manitou  only  a  kind  of  material  main- 
spring, giving  being  and  inovement  to  all  things,  yet  they  pro- 
fess to  believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  a  future  life 
where  men  enjoy  all  pleasures,  where  they  find  even  abundant 
fishery  and  chase,  Indian  corn  and  tobacco  in  all  plenty,  with 

*The  Montagnais.  See  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  504,  who  reads  Ata- 
hocan.  In  the  "  Grand  Voyage  "  he  gives  Ataouacan  as  the  Canadian 
word,  p.  228. 


2l8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

a  thousand  other  curious,  beautiful,  and  necessary  things. 
They  hold  that  the  soul  does  not  abandon  the  body  imme- 
diately after  death;  hence  they  inter  with  the  body  a  bow  and 
arrow,  Indian  corn,  meat,  and  sagamity  to  support  it  while 
waiting.  As  they  ascribe  souls  to  all  sensible  things,  they  be- 
lieve that  men  after  death  hunt  the  souls  of  beaver,  elk, 
foxes,  wild  geese,  seals,  and  that  the  soul  of  their  snowshoes 
serves  to  keep  them  above  tlie  snow,  and  the  souls  of  their 
bows  and  arrows  to  kill  beasts-  They  hold  the  same  of  fish 
and  fisliing  ;  so  that  the  dead  need  the  arms  which  are  buried 
with  them  only  to  make  the  journey  to  the  next  life.*  They 
imagine  that  they  ramble  invisibly  through  the  villages  for  a 
time  and  share  in  their  feasts  and  banquets,  where  they  al- 
ways set  aside  a  portion  for  them.  This  goes  so  far  that 
many  of  these  nations  have  certain  general  feasts  of  the  dead, 
accompanied  by  horrible  chants  and  cries  ;  feasts  where  all 
must  be  eaten  ;  dances  and  presents  of  different  kinds. 
They  take  the  body  from  the  village,  and  bones,  which  they 
call  bundles  of  souls,  and  change  them  from  one  tomb  to  an- 
other adorned  witli  skins,  beads,  belts,  and  other  like  riches  of 
the  country,  believing  that  all  this  serves  to  render  the  dead 
more  happy  f  I  will  not  stop  here  to  follow  out  the  supersti- 
tion of  tlieir  belief  on  this  point  ;  the  various  places  where 
they  believe  that  the  souls  have  their  retreat,  the  character 
of  their  occupations,  their  manner  of  life,  war,  peace,  govern- 
ment, and  hnvs,  are  as  many  extravagant  and  ridiculous  tradi- 
tions, founded  on  fables,  which  their  ancestors  have  endorsed 

*  Compare  Sagard,  "  Grand  Vo)^age,"  p.  233  ;  "  Histoire,"  p.  497. 
f  Compare  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  700,  71S. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  219 

and  transmitted  to  their  descendants,  who  are  strongly  at- 
tached to  them.* 

"  There  is  no  nation  but  has  its  jugglers,  whom  some  con- 
sider sorcerers  ;  but  it  is  not  likely  that  there  is  in  their  case 
any  real  pact  or  communication  with  the  devil,  who  never- 
theless rules  in  their  deceit  and  imposture,  which  he  employs 
to  deceive  these  people  and  remove  them  the  more  from  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  ;  for  they  all  have  faith  in  these 
jugglers,  although  they  every  day  fail  to  keep  their  woid.f 
These  impostors  are  regarded  as  prophets  who  predict  the 
future  from  the  Almighty.  They  boast  of  making  rain  and 
clear  weather,  calm  and  storm,  the  fecundity  or  sterility  of 
the  earth,  fortunate  or  unsuccessful  hunts  ;  they  act  as  physi- 
cians, applying  remedies  which  have  often  no  healing  power. 
Nothing  is  so  hc-rrible  as  the  cries,  noise,  racket,  fury,  and 
contortions  of  these  cheats  when  they  begin  to  juggle  and 
make  their  kind  of  enchantment.  They  have,  however,  great 
dexterity  ;  for,  as  they  heal  and  predict  only  by  chance,  they 
have  a  thousand  tricks  to  deceive  these  savages  when  the 
event  does  not  answer  their  expectation  and  the  predictions 
and  remedies  of  these  pretended  prophets  and  physicians, 
who  do  nothing  without  presents  and  recompense.  If,  in- 
deed, these  jugglers  are  not  adroit  in  getting  credit  and  turn- 
ing their  very  blunders  to  account  when  the  person  dies  or 
the  enterprise  fails  in  the  desired  success,  the  juggler  is  some- 
times executed  on  the  spot  without  any  other  formality. 

"These  poor  blind  cieatures  also  profess  a  thousand  other 

*  See  Jouvenc)%  "  De  Regione,  etc.,  Canadensium,"  in  "  Hist.   Soc. 
Jesu,"  lib.  XV.  p.  5,  O'Callaghan's  Reprint,  p.  25. 
f  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  475. 


220  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

superstitions  with  which  the  devils  entertain  them.  They 
believe  that  many  kinds  of  animals  have  reasonable  souls  ; . 
they  have  an  insane  superstition  against  profaning  certain 
bones  of  elk,  beaver,  and  other  beasts,  or  letting  their  dogs 
gnaw  them.*  They  jireserve  them  carefully  or  throw  them 
into  a  river.  They  pretend  that  the  souls  of  these  animals 
come  to  see  how  their  bodies  are  treated,  and  go  and  tell  the 
living  beasts  and  those  that  are  dead  ;  so  that  if  they  are  ill- 
treated  the  beasts  of  the  same  kind  will  no  longer  allow 
themselves  to  be  taken  either  in  this  world  or  the  next. 

"  Their  sins  have  apparently  spread  a  darkness  and 
insensibility  in  their  souls  for  all  kinds  of  religion  such  as 
historians  have  never  remarked  in  any  other  nation  in  the 
world.  For  amid  their  countless  superstitions  there  seem  to 
be  none  to  which  they  cling  from  religious  motives.  It  is 
pure  fancy.  When  pressed  on  their  reveries  they  make  no 
answer  ;  their  mind  remains,  as  it  were,  stupid  and  dull.  If 
pressed  on  our  mysteries  they  hear  all  with  as  much  indiffer- 
ence as  if  they  were  relating  their  chimeras.  I  see  many  who 
seem  to  yield  to  this  truth,  that  there  is  a  principle  which  has 
created  all  things  ;  but  this  only  flashes  on  their  mind,  which 
immediately  relapses  into  its  former  lethargy  and  insensi- 
bility. 

"  Hence  they  do  not  generally  care  for  instruction  ;  they 
come  and  cling  to  us  only  from  fancy  or  natural  inclination, 
or  for  the  welcome  and  attention  given  them  by  the  care  we 
take  of  their  sick,  or  from  interest  to  get  something  from  us, 
and,  lastly,  because  we  are  Frenchmen  and  they  are  allied 
with  us  against  their  enemies.     We   teach   them  the  prayers, 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  495. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  22  1 

and  they  recite  them  without  any  discernment  of  the  Faith, 
Hke  so  many  songs  ;  and  even  those  whom  we  have  long  cate- 
chised, except  a  very  small  number,  are  not  to  be  depended 
upon  if  they  return  for  ever  so  short  a  time  to  the  woods. 

"  I  know  not  whether  their  ancestors  knew  any  divinity, 
but  the  fact  is  that  their  language,  natural  enough  for  any- 
thing else,  is  so  sterile  on  this  point  that  we  can  find  no  terms 
to  express  the  Divinity  nor  any  of  our  mysteries,  not  even  the 
most  common.     This  is  one  of  our  greatest  difficulties. 

"  One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  their  conversion  is  that 
most  of  them  have  several  wives,  and  that  they  change  them 
wlien  they  like,  not  understanding  that  it  is  possible  to  submit 
to  the  indissolubility  of  marriage.*  '  Just  see,'  they  tell  us, 
'  you  have  no  sense.  My  wife  does  not  agree  with  me  and  I 
cannot  agree  with  her.  She  will  be  better  suited  with  such  a 
one,  who  does  not  get  on  with  his  wife.  Why,  then,  do  you 
wish  us  four  to  be  unhappy  the  rest  of  our  days  ? ' 

"  Another  obstacle,  which  you  may  conjecture  from  what  I 
have  said,  is  the  opinion  they  have  that  you  must  never  con- 
tradict any  one,  and  that  every  one  must  be  left  to  his  own 
way  of  thinking.  They  will  believe  all  you  please,  or,  at 
least,  will  not  contradict  you  ;  and  they  will  let  you,  too,  be- 
lieve what  you  will.  It  is  a  profound  insensibility  and  indif- 
ference, especially  in  religious  matters,  for  which  they  do  not 
care.  No  one  must  come  here  in  liopes  of  suffering  martyr- 
dom, if  we  take  the  word  in  its  strict  theological  sense,  for 
we  are  not  in  a  country  where  savages  put  Christians  to  death 
on  account  of  their  religion.  They  leave  every  one  in  his 
own   belief  ;    they  even  like  our  ceremonies  externally,  and 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  319. 


222  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

this  barbarism  makes  war  only  for  the  interests  of  the  nation. 
They  kill  people  only  in  private  quarrels,  from  intoxication, 
brutality,  vengeance,  a  dream  or  extravagant  vision  ;  they  are 
incapable  of  doing  it  in  hatred  of  the  Faith. 

'*  Every  inclination  of  theirs  is  brutal ;  they  are  naturally 
gluttons,  knowing  no  other  beatitude  in  life  than  eating  and 
drinking.  This  brutality  is  remarked  even  in  their  games 
and  diversions,  which  are  always  preceded  and  followed  by 
feasts.  There  are  farewell  feasts,  complimentary  feasts,  war, 
peace,  death,  health,  and  marriage  feasts.  In  their  banquets 
they  pass  days  and  nights,  especially  when  they  make  feasts 
which  they  call  '  eat  all,'  for  no  one  is  permitted  to  leave  till 
he  has  swallowed  everything.  * 

"  Vengeance  offers  a  great  obstacle  to  Christianity.  Al- 
though they  show  great  mildness  towards  their  nation,  they 
are  cruel  and  vindictive  beyond  all  idea  to  their  enemies. 
They  are  naturally  inconstant,  mockers,  slanderers,  unchaste 
— in  fine,  amid  a  host  of  vices  in  which  they  are  swallowed 
up  you  can  perceive  no  principle  of  religion  or  of  moral  or 
pagan  virtue,  which  is  a  great  drawback  to  their  conversion. 

"  To  convert  them  they  must  be  familiarized  and  settled 
among  us.  This  cannot  be  done  at  once,  unless  the  colony 
multiplies  and  spreads  in  all  directions.  And  even  when  they 
have  spent  a  month  with  us  they  must  go  to  war,  hunt  or 
fish  to  get  a  living  ;  and  this  debauches  them  strangely.  They 
must  be  fixed  and  induced  to  clear  and  cultivate  the  land, 
to  work  at  different  trades,  like  the  French.  After  this  they 
can  be  gradually  civilized  with  each  other  and  with  us. 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  296,  299,  302,  476;  "Grand  Voyage," 
p.  144. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  223 

"  The  other  nations  above  seem  better  disposed  than  those 
below.  I  speak  more  fully  in  my  other  letter  of  the  natural 
plan  and  disposition  of  all  these  tribes." 

As  this  good  Father  gives  also  a  sketch  of  the 
customs  and  manners  of  the  Gaspesians  and  Aca- 
dian Indians,  the  reader  may  satisfy  his  curiosity  in 
the  New  Relation  which  I  have  made  of  Gaspesie, 
where  I  treat  it  at  some  length."* 

"  We  have,"  continues  our  missionary,  "  attracted  some 
Iroquois  here.  For  all  that  is  said  of  the  fierceness  and 
cruelty  of  this  nation,  I  think  that  they  have  more  mind,  rea- 
son, and  policy  than  the  rest,  and  consequently  are  better 
capable  of  conceiving  our  truths.  Our  seminary  would  be  a 
great  resource,  if  we  had  the  means  of  supplying  all  ;  but,  on 
account  of  the  poverty  of  the  country,  we  can  support  but  a 
small  number  of  Indians  there.  The  rest  of  our  church  is 
spread  in  the  neighborhood  among  the  French  and  Indians, 
and  some  are  in  the  woods  with  three  of  our  Fathers  and  one 
Brother.  It  will  always  be  much  to  gain  some  souls  to  God  ; 
we  expect  the  rest  from  his  grace. 

"  We  have  since  that  time  had  a  great  solemnity,  when 
all  the  settlers  were  present  and  many  Indians,  for  a  vow  we 
have  made  to  Saint  Joseph,  whom  we  have  chosen  Patron  of 
the  country  and  protector  of  this  rising  church.  You,  sir, 
are  that  of  our  house  by  your  care  and  liberality.  We  send 
to  France  Father  Irenreus,  who  will  communicate  to  you  our 

*  Le  Clercq,   "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  Paris,  1691,  passim. 


224  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

little  designs  in  order  to  establish  more  solidly  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  in  this  New  World  by  new  evangelical  workmen 
with  whom  we  can  labor  in  this  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 
Remember  me  in  your  sacrifices,  and  believe  me  entirely 
yours."  * 

Our  missionaries  who  were  then  at  Quebec,  after 
having  invoked  for  some  days  the  light  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  concert  what  was  most  expedient 
for  the  establishment  and  propagation  of  the  Faith 
in  these  countries  which  had  been  committed  to 
their  care,  casting  their  eyes  on  the  great  number  of 
different  nations,  and  seeing  that  the  colony  begin 
to  form,  decided  that  the  harvest  was  too  great  for 
so  small  a  number  of  workmen,  and  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Company  thought  they  were  making  a 
great  effort  in  supporting  annually  six  Recollects  ; 
that  for  the  rest  they  must  rely  on  Providence  ; 
that  their  salaries  were  scanty  for  the  establishment 
of  the  missions ;  that  it  would  be  enough  for  us, 
supported  by  little  succors  and  alms  from  France, 
to  maintain  the  five  missions,  which  promised  some 

*  Father  Irenseus  Piat  and  Brother  Sagard  probably  went  together. 
Champlain  went  at  the  same  time.     Laverdiere's  Champ.  (1632),  vi.  p.  84. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  225 

success ;  and  that,  finally,  if  some  religious  com- 
munity could  be  found  willing  at  its  own  expense 
to  sacrifice  to  this  New  World  a  number  of  mis- 
sionaries, some  advantage  might  be  expected. 

With  this  view  our  Fathers  did  not  hesitate  ;  hav- 
ing no  share  but  uprightness,  simplicity,  the  glory 
of  the  Almighty,  a  sincere  desire  of  furthering  it, 
without  envy,  by  the  conversion  of  these  tribes, 
they  all  agreed  to  depute  some  one  of  their  num- 
ber to  France  to  propose  it  to  the  reverend  Jesuit 
Fathers,  whom  they  judged  best  fitted  to  estab- 
lish and  amplify  the  Faith  in  concert  with  us  in 
Canada. 

This  project  was  not  without  its  difficulties.  It 
was  ascertained  that  Father  George  le  Baillif,  Pro- 
curator of  the  mission  in  France,  had  already  sound- 
ed the  associates ;  our  Fathers  had  done  so  with 
Monsieur  de  Caen's  agents  at  Quebec.  But  all 
showed  an  unwillingness  to  hear  of  it ;  and  it  was 
the  same  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  wiio 
had  not  such  broad,  pure,  and  disinterested  views 

as    our    missionaries.       Monsieur     de    Champlain 
15 


2  26  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

was  sounded,  and  his  opinion  was  very  equivocal  ; 
so  that  it  was  agreed  in  our  meetino;  to  keep  the 
resolution  secret,  the  better  to  ensure  success  in 
France  before  the  King  and  with  the  reverend 
Jesuit  Fathers,  provided  they  gave  their  consent  ; 
so  that  the  Chapter  deputed  Father  IreuDcus  Piat 
to  go  to  France  and  negotiate  this  matter  which 
the  mission  had  at  heart. 

Monsieur  de  Champlain,  after  having  given  peace 
to  the  whole  country,  resolved  to  sail  to  France  by 
the  first  vessels.*  He  arranged  all  his  affairs  for 
the  first  that  cleared.  Father  Irenoeus  received  all 
his  instructions  ;  even  before  his  departure  he  had 
the  consolation  of  seeing  two  of  our  Fathers  set 
out,  one  for  Tadoussac,  the  other  for  Three 
Rivers  with  Brother  Charles  Langoisseux.  A 
French  canoe  coming  from  the  Hurons  brought 
him  letters  from  Father  Nicholas,  who  showed 
great  perseverance,  asking  to  live  and  die  in  his  mis- 
sion. But  what  crowned  the  joy  of  our  religious 
and  all  the  French  of  the  rising  colony  was  the  hap- 

*  He  sailed  Aug.  15,  1624.     Laverdiere's  Chanipl.  (1632),  vi.  p,  83. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  227 

py  arrival  of  three  illustrious  Recollect  missiona- 
ries of  the  province  of  Aquitaine,  who,  having  em- 
barked in  the  ships  of  the  Company  which  traded 
in  Cadie,*  came  to  Quebec  in  canoe  by  the  River 
Loup,  with  two  Frenchmen  and  five  Indians,  two 
days  before  the  departure  of  the  vessels.  They 
had  left  the  mission  which  they  had  on  St.  John's 
River  a  month  before,  in  consequence  of  orders 
which  they  had  received  from  their  provincial  in 
France,  and  they  wished  greatly  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  apostolic  labors  of  ours  and  labor  in 
concert  with  our  Fathers  in  converting  the  heathen 
in  this  New  World.  Father  James  de  la  Foyer 
asked  to  go  and  winter  with  the  Nepisiriniens,  and 
he  went  with  Brother  Bonaventure,  a  Recollect  of 
the  province  of  St.  Denis.  The  other  two,  name- 
ly, Father  Louis  Fontiner  and  James  Cardon,  re- 
mained at  our  convent  of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels, 
and  labored  with  fruit  for  the  salvation  of  the  sur- 
rounding nations.  The  little  fleet  at  last  weighed 
anchor.      It   was,  indeed,  driven   by  a  storm  into 

*  Acadia,  now  New  Brunswick. 


228    FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OV  THE  FAITH. 

Gachpe  ^'  Bay,  where  they  had  to  stay  some  time  ; 
but  the  wind  having  become  favorable,  they  sailed 
on  safely  and  arrived  in  France, f  Monsieur  de 
Champlain  having  taken  his  wife  with  him. 

*  Le  Clercq  himself,  in  his  other  book,  always  writes  Gaspe. 
f  He  reached  Dieppe  Oct.  i,  1624.      Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632), 
vi.  p.  85. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  RECOLLECTS  OF   THE    PROVINCE  OF  PARIS  SOLICIT 
IN    FRANCE    A    MISSION    OF    THE    REVEREND    JESUIT 

FATHERS     FOR    CANADA THEY    OBTAIN     IT    AFTER 

OVERCOMING  THE  DIFFICULTIES  THAT  ARISE — 
THE  REVEREND  JESUIT  FATHERS  GO  TO  CANADA 
FOR    THE    FIRST    TIME    IN     1 625. 

T7ATHER  IREN^US  lost  no  time,  and, 
'^  though  in  a  season  which  began  to  be  un- 
pleasant, after  taking  two  days'  rest  at  Dieppe,  he 
set  out  for  Paris,  where  he  arrived  safely,  and  put 
his  commission  and  papers  in  the  hands  of  the  Su- 
periors, whom  he  informed  at  length  of  the  state  of 
our  missions.  Among  other  things  he  exposed  the 
necessity  in  which  the  country  was  of  a  greater 
number  of  missionaries ;  that,  indeed,  the  three 
Recollects  of  Aquitaine  who  had  fortunately  ar- 
rived to  aid  our  missions  before  his  departure  from 
Quebec  could  facilitate  new  discoveries  ;  yet,  after 
all,  the  harvest  was  too  great,  and  they  must  cast 


230  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

their  eyes  on  some  religious  order  to  labor  with  us 
in  the  conversion  of  this  New  World.  He  pre- 
sented for  this  purpose  the  most  humble  remon- 
strance made  by  the  Chapter  of  Quebec  to  the 
reverend  Father-Provincial,  and  to  his  definitory  to 
call  the  Jesuit  Fathers  to  their  help,  if  it  was  judged 
expedient,  in  order  to  cultivate  this  vineyard  of  the 
Lord. 

The  reverend  Father-Provincial,  to  whom,  apart 
from  every  other,  the  mission  was  subject  as  Pre- 
fect, to  send  whom  he  pleased  thither  by  virtue  of 
the  apostohc  brief  already  mentioned,  soon  after  as- 
sembled his  definitory  to  deliberate  on  the  affairs  of 
Canada,  of  which  this  was  the  most  important. 
Father  George  was  summoned  to  it  with  Father 
Irenseus. 

It  is  true  that  many  persons  without,  distrusting 
the  project,  had  sought  to  divert  our  Fathers,  on 
the  ground  of  their  own  interest,  showing  us  that 
we  had  every  reason  to  fear  that  the  Gospel  saying, 
"  And  the  first  shall  be  last,"  would  be  verified  to 
our  prejudice,   if  we  were   not   in    course   of   time 


OF  THE  FAITH.  231 

actually  excluded  altogether  from  these  missions. 
Other  persons  diverted  us  from  interested  views  of 
their  own.  All  their  reasons  were  maturely  weighed 
on  both  sides,  but  charity  dissipated  all  the  clouds. 
The  singular  esteem  so  justly  due  to  that  illustri- 
ous body,  the  close  union  which  the  Recollects 
have  always  maintained  and  still  keep  up  every- 
where with  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  this  faith- 
ful and  cordial  understanding  overcame  all  these 
considerations.  The  assembly  deputed  Father 
Irenasus  to  make  the  proposal  to  Father  Noirot, 
who  was  then  the  reverend  Father-Provincial  of 
the  Jesuits,  He  fulfilled  it  faithfully.  The  pro- 
position was 'accepted  with  joy  and  every  promise 
of  gratitude  and  union  on  the  part  of  the  Jesuits. 

It  now  only  remained  to  have  it  approved  at 
court.  Monsieur  de  Montmorancy  was  no  longer 
Viceroy  of  Canada  ;  he  had  transferred  the  title 
and  duties  to  Monsieur  de  Ventadour,  his  nephew."^ 
Father  George,   accompanied  by   Father   Irenaeus, 

* Ventadour's  Commission  to  Champlain  is  in  "Edits  et  Ordon- 
nances,"  iii.  p.  13. 


232  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

communicated  their  project  to  him,  and  that  noble- 
man, seeing  the  parties  agreed,  consented  without 
difficulty.  He  undertook  to  petition  the  King  to 
confirm  it  by  his  royal  authority,  and  even  to  influ- 
ence the  gentlemen  of  the  Company,  who  were 
very  averse  to  it.  The  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  did 
not  appear.  Monsieur  de  Ventadour  obtained  his 
Majesty's  consent,  and  at  last  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Company  were  made  to  understand  that  they  would 
be  obliged  to  agree  to  it,  willingly  or  by  force,  and 
that  they  might  better  consent  with  a  good  grace  ; 
that,  moreover,  it  was  not  pretended  that  this  was 
to  be  at  their  expense,  nor  in  prejudice  to  the  num- 
ber of  Recollects  which  by  their  contract  they  were 
bound  to  support  in  Canada. 

Meanwhile,  after  the  Recollect  Fathers  had  thus 
overcome  all  obstacles  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Jesuits,  these  reverend  Fathers  found  means  of 
propitiating  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company,  who 
appointed  them  a  day  to  meet  the  Recollects  at 
their  office,  in  order  to  consult  together  on  what 
was  to  be   done.     How  we  know  not,  they  forgot 


OF  THE  FAITH.  233 

to  notify  us  ;  the  Jesuit  Fathers  were  there  alone 
at  the  appointed  day  and  hour.  The  gentlemen  of 
the  Company  were  bound  by  the  treaty  with  the 
King  to  carry  out  and  support  six  Recollects  in 
Canada.     The  terms  are  : 

"  'l"he  said  de  Caens  or  their  said  Society  shall  be  l^ound 
to  carry  to  Canada  and  support  there  in  the  ordinary  way  six 
Recollects,  including  two  who  will  often  be  on  explorations  in 
the  country  among  the  Indians.  Done  and  agreed  between 
us,  the  undersigned,  November  18,  1620. 

(Signed)  "  de  Caen." 

But,  notwithstanding  this  contract,  it  was  found 
that,  by  the  result  of  the  meeting,  these  gentlemen 
granted  the  Jesuits  two  of  the  six  places,  of  which 
we  were  in  possession  by  right  of  time.  The  Re- 
collects, informed  of  what  had  happened,  had  re- 
course to  Monsieur  de  Ventadour,  who,  being  in- 
formed of  it,  commanded  his  secretary  to  write 
promptly  in  his  name  to  the  directors  of  the  Com- 
pany that  he  wished  no  change  made  in  anything 
that  had  been  done  in  favor  of  the  six  Recollects, 
either  as  to  support  or  passage,  and  that  in  case 
of  violation  he  absolutely  revoked  the  permission 


234  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

which  he  had  given  the  Jesuit  Fathers  *  to  go  to 
Canada. 

The  reverend  Father  Noyrot,  Provincial  of  the 
Jesuits  of  Paris,  appointed  Fathers  Charles  Lalle- 
mand,  Enemond  Masse,  John  Brebeuf,  Spiritual 
Coadjutors,  and  Brothers  Gilbert  Buret  and  Fran- 
cis Charton,  Temporal  Coadjutors,  to  begin  the 
mission  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in  Canada,  f  The 
reverend  Father-Provincial  of  the  Recollects  of 
the  province  of  Paris  on  his  side  appointed  Fa- 
ther Joseph  de  la  Roche-d'Allion,  of  the  house  of 
the  Counts  du  Lud,  a  Recollect  religious  of  the 
province  of  St.  Denis,  as  illustrious  for  his  zeal 
and  virtue  as  for  his  birth.  There  was  still  time 
before  embarking,  so  that  both  parties  had  leisure 
to  prepare  for  the  voyage.  J 

*Sagard,  "Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  861-6. 

f  No  Jesuit  letter  or  Relation  gives  the  names  of  this  first  party  till 
Creuxius,  "Hist.  Canadensis,"  1664,  p.  5.  Champlain  (Laverdiere's 
ed.,  vi.  p.  86)  gives  them,  omitting  the  family  name  of  the  two  Bro- 
thers. Instead  of  Buret,  the  Relation  1635  (Quebec  ed.,  p.  23),  and  F. 
Charles  Lallemant  (Cara3'on,  "  Premiere  Mission,"  p.  120),  and  Creux- 
ius give  Burel,  and  the  last  writes  Charreton. 

I  Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  pp.  86,  92. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  235 

Among  the  young  Indians  whom  our  Fathers 
had  previously  taken  to  France  was  one  called 
Ahinsistan,  who  had  made  much  progress  in 
Christianity,  in  the  usages  of  the  world  and  the 
French  mode  of  life.  He  had  learned  French  so 
well  that  he  had  forgot  the  Canadian  language. 
The  Prince  de  Guimene  did  him  the  honor  to 
hold  him  over  the  font,  where  he  was  christened 
Peter  Anthony."^'  His  illustrious  godfather  had 
maintained  him  at  his  studies  for  five  years ;  he 
had  made  great  progress  in  Latin  and  in  many 
natural  and  civil  acquirements.  We  had  three 
others,  who  had  been  distributed  in  our  convents 
of  Paris,  Rouen,  and  St.  Germain.  They  were 
trained  to  piety  and  the  service  of  the  altar,  even 
teaching  them  Latin.  These  young  plants  gave 
the  best  thinkers  some  hope  of  forming  the  Cana- 
dians   in    time.      They    showed   docility,    vivacity, 


*  Peter  Anthony  Pastedechouan  was  subsequently  Father  le  Jeune's 
Montagnais  teacher.  Relation  1633,  p.  7  ;  Creuxius,  p.  no.  Sagard 
("  Histoire,"  p.  936)  calls  him  Patctchounon  and  a  Canadian,  meaning, 
apparently,  a  Naskapee.  Le  Clercq's  name,  Ahinsistan,  looks  like 
Huron,  ahd  is  probably  put  here  by  mistake.     See  Sagard,  p.  874. 


236  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

and  a  tolerably  easy  conception.  After  the  first 
eight  or  ten  months'  stay  in  France  there  was 
one,  among  others,  who  had  learned  to  write  so 
well  that  we  have  Relations  of  the  country  and 
instructive  letters  of  our  Fathers  in  his  handwrit- 
ing. As  Peter  Anthony  was  more  advanced,  hav- 
ing made  five  years'  stay  in  France,  which  he  did 
not  wish  to  leave.  Father  George  and  Father  Jo- 
seph thought  proper  to  persuade  him  to  make  a 
voyage  home.  As  he  was  tractable  and  docile, 
he  yielded  to  their  entreaties  from  a  pure  mo- 
tive of  God's  glory  ;  for  he  was  a  Christian,  and 
so  devout  as  to  shame  many  who  laid  claim  to 
piety.* 

The  fleet  for  Canada  was  making  ready  to  sail. 
Monsieur  de  Caen  had  reserved  the  direction  to 
himself,  so  that  when  the  Jesuit  Fathers  and  Fa- 
ther Joseph  de  la  Roche  Dallion  had  embarked 
they  set  sail.  The  voyage  had  nothing  particu- 
lar beyond  being  shorter  and  more  pleasant  than 
previous   ones.      They    arrived    at    Quebec,  where 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  864-5. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  237 

they  were  received  with  the  universal  joy  of  the 
French  and  Indians.''^' 

We  may  here  remark  that  the  Abbe  de  la 
Roque  did  not  write  on  faithful  memoirs  when 
he  places  the  first  apostolic  labors  of  the  Jesuits 
in  Canada  only  in  1637  and  1638,  as  all  the 
world  knows,  and  so  many  Relations  and  His- 
tories of  the  country  attest,  that  they  were  led 
there  by  our  Fathers,  and  that  these  five  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Society  of  Jesus  anchored  there 
in  1625.  The  Recollects  had  already  labored 
there  for  the  space  of  ten  years  in  the  first  estab- 
lishment of  the  Faith. 

The  highest  and  holiest  enterprises  for  God's 
glory  are  usually  the  most  opposed.  One  would 
have  thought  that  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  willing  to 
sacrifice  themselves  for  the  country  and  begin 
their  mission  by  so  large  a  number  of  excellent 
men,  would  have  been  received  with  all  possible 
gratitude,  and  even  cheerfully  ;  but,  far  from  that, 
there  was   no   one  either  of  the   chief  men  or  of 

*  Sagard,  p.  867  ;  Creuxius,  "  Historia  Canadensis,"  p.  6. 


238  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  settlers  but  showed  a  repugnance.  All  una- 
nimously refused  to  receive  them,  unless  they  saw 
absolute  orders  and  a  command  of  the  king  for 
their  establishment.  They  did  not  even  find  any 
one  willing  to  lodge  them  ;  for  as  they  had  been 
satisfied  with  obtaining  a  mere  verbal  consent  of 
his  Majesty,  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  obtain 
authentic  letters  for  the  establishment  of  these 
reverend  Fathers.  The  enterprise  was  about  to 
fall  through,  they  were  on  the  point  of  return- 
ing to  France  in  the  same  ships  and  abandoning 
their  design  entirely,  when  our  Fathers,  after  much 
coming  and  going,  at  last  obtained  of  the  gene- 
ral and  settlers  their  consent  that  the  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers should  take  up  their  abode  with  us,  to 
make  only  one  spirit  and  body  of  missionaries, 
without  being  a  charge  to  the  country,  till  it 
pleased  the  king  to  order  otherwise.  This  ar- 
rangement being  made,  the  Father-Commissary 
and  his  religious  set  out  in  the  convent  boat  to 
go  on  board  to  do  honor  to  the  reverend  Jesuit 
Fathers  and   take   them   to   our    convent  with  all 


OF  THE  FAITH.  239 

the  joy  that  can  be  supposed.  Our  religious, 
seeing  their  desires  accomplished  by  the  arrival 
of  these  Fathers,  chanted  a  Te  Deum  in  thanks- 
giving, and  showed  them  every  welcome  which 
the  state  of  the  country  and  holy  poverty  could 
permit.  They  were  offered  and  accepted  the 
half  of  our  convent,  garden,  and  cleared  enclo- 
sure, which  they  chose,  and  they  remained  there 
for  the  space  of  two  years,  living  and  laboring 
in  perfect  harmony  with  our  Fathers,  while  their 
affairs  were  advancing  and  settling  in  France 
and  in  the  country  itself  for  a  perfect  establish- 
ment. This  was  aided  materially,  no  doubt,  by 
the  deputation  of  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  to 
France  by  our  Fathers  chiefly  on  this  matter."** 
He  returned  in  triumph  the  next  year,  proud 
of  having  obtained  a  part  of  his  negotiation 
and  of  what  we  desired  in  the  matter.  The 
public  will  be  at  once  pleased  and  edified  to 
see  that  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  were  not 
ungrateful.       Among  other  proofs    that   could   be 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  871. 


240  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

given    here,    we    copy    two    letters   of    the    Rev. 

Father   Lallemant,  first  Superior  of  the  Jesuits  in 

Canada,    written   to    Monsieur    de    Champlain    in 

France   and   to  the   reverend   Father-Provincial  of 

the  Recollects  of  the  province  of  St.  Denis  : 

"Sir  : 

"  Here  we  are,  thank  God  !  within  the  limits  of  your  lieu- 
tenancy, where  we  arrived  safely  after  having  had  one  of  the 
best  voyages  yet  experienced.  The  general,  after  declaring 
to  us  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  lodge  us  in  the  settle- 
ment or  in  the  fort,  and  tliat  we  must  either  return  to  France 
or  retire  to  the  Recollect  Fathers,  has  compelled  us  to  accept 
this  last  offer.  These  Fathers  have  received  us  with  so  much 
charity  that  they  have  put  us  under  obligations  for  ever. 
Our  Lord  will  be  their  reward.  One  of  our  Fathers  went  to 
the  trade,  intending  to  proceed  to  the  Hurons  and  Iroquois 
with  the  Recollect  Father  who  came  from  France,  as  they 
should  arrange  with  Father  Nicholas,  who  was  to  be  at  the 
trade  and  confer  with  them  ;  but  it  has  happened  that  poor 
Father  Nicholas,  Recollect,  was  drowned  at  the  last  rapid. 
This  has  obliged  them  to  return,  having  no  knowledge,  lan- 
guage, or  information.  We  accordingly  await  your  coming  to 
resolve  what  it  is  expedient  to  do.  You  will  learn  all  that 
you  can  desire  to  know  of  this  country  from  the  reverend  Fa- 
ther Joseph.  I  accordingly  content  myself  with  assuring  you 
that  I  am,  sir,  your  very  affectionate  servant, 

"CHARLES  LALLEMANT.* 
"Quebec,  28th  July,  1625." 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  868. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  241 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  that  which  he  wrote 
to  the  Rev.  Father-Provincial  of  the  Recollects 
of  Paris  : 

"  Reverend  Father  : 

"  Pax  Christi.  It  would  be  too  ungrateful  were  I  not  to 
write  to  your  Reverence  to  thank  you  for  the  many  letters 
lately  written  in  our  favor  to  the  Fathers  who  are  here  in 
New  France,  and  for  the  charity  which  we  have  received 
from  the  Fathers,  who  put  us  under  eternal  obligation.  I  be- 
seech our  good  God  to  be  the  reward  of  you  both.  For  myself, 
I  write  to  our  Superiors  that  I  feel  it  so  deeply  that  I  will  let  no 
occasion  pass  of  showing  it,  and  I  beg  them,  although  already 
most  affectionately  disposed,  to  show  your  whole  holy  order 
the  same  feelings.  Father  Joseph  will  tell  your  Reverence  the 
object  of  his  voyage,  for  the  success  of  which  we  shall  not 
cease  to  offer  prayers  and  sacrifices  to  God.  This  time  we 
must  advance  in  good  earnest  the  affairs  of  our  Master,  and 
omit  nothing  that  shall  be  deemed  necessary.,  I  have  writ- 
ten to  all  who,  I  thought,  could  aid  it,  and  I  am  sure  they 
will  exert  themselves,  if  affairs  in  France  permit.  Your 
Reverence,  I  doubt  not,  is  affectionately  inclined,  and  so 
vis  unita,  our  united  effort,  will  do  much.  Awaiting  the  result, 
I  commend  myself  to  the  Holy  Sacrifices  of  your  Reverence, 
wliose  most  humble  servant 
"  I  am, 

"CHARLES  LALLEMANT.* 
"  Quebec,  July  28,  1625." 


*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  869. 
16 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MURDER  OF  FATHER  NICHOLAS,  RECOLLECT  MIS- 
SIONARY TO  THE  HURONS,  COMMITTED  BY  THE 
INDIANS FRUITLESS  ATTEMPTS  OF  THE  RECOL- 
LECTS    AND     JESUITS     TO     REACH     THAT    FATHEr's 

MISSION DEPUTATION      OF      FATHER      JOSEPH      LE 

CARON  TO  FRANCE WINTERING  OF  THE  RECOL- 
LECTS AND  JESUITS  AT  QUEBEC,  WITH  MANY  HIS- 
TORICAL RECOLLECTIONS  ON  THE  FIRST  ESTAB- 
LISHMENT OF  THE  FAITH. 


^T~^HE    Church    of    Canada,  reinforced    by  these 

^       new  evangelical     laborers  full   of  light    and 

fervor  for   its  establishment,  would  have  received 


considerable  -increase  had  the  time  of  grace  ar- 
rived for  these  nations  buried  in  darkness  and  a 
horrible  obduracy.  Union,  friendship,  disinte- 
restedness, God's  glory,  the  conversion  of  the  In- 
dians, and  the  propagation  of  the  faith  were  the 
soul  of  these  apostolic  men  ;  and  although  they 
were  of  a    different   institute,    it    appears  by  their 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.    243 

whole  conduct  that  they  always  preserved  the 
same  spirit,  undertaking  nothing  except  in  con- 
cert, especially  in  these  early  times,  making  one 
heart,   one   soul,   and,   so  to   say,   one  mission. 

After  the  Jesuit  Fathers  had  reposed  and  were 
settled  in  our  house  both  agreed  to  go  up  to  the 
Hurons  to  advance  that  mission,  which  seemed 
to  promise  something.  Father  Brebeuf,  a  Jesuit, 
and  Father  Joseph  de  la  Roche  Dallion,  a  Re- 
collect, were  appointed  for  these  missions,  and  set 
out  at  once  *  for  Three  Rivers  on  the  Company's 
barks  which  went  there  to  trade.  They  were 
charitably  received  by  our  missionary  who  re- 
sided there,  and  who  shared  in  the  common  joy 
of  our  Fathers  at  the  arrival  of  these  new  apos- 
tles. There  were  several  Huron  chiefs  there, 
who  facilitated  the  means  of  pursuing  their  route 
and  conducted  them  with  their  little  baggage  to 
their  country  and  to  the  residence  of  the  Recol- 
lects.     Our    traders  gave    beads,   knives,   kettles, 

*  About  the  month  of  July,  1625.  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  874  ; 
Lallemant  in  Carayon,  "  Premiere  Mission,"  p.  188  ;  Lettre,  Paris,  1627, 
p.  51. 


244  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

and  other  articles  to  these  Indians  to  ensure  the 
voyage  and   pay  for   our  missionaries. 

They  were  getting  ready  to  start  when  a  ru- 
mor began  to  spread  of  the  death  of  the  Recol- 
lect Father  Nicholas  Viel,  This  good  religious, 
who  had  gone  up  to  the  Hurons  two  years  be- 
fore with  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  and  Brother 
Gabriel  Sagar,  who  had  remained  there  all  that 
time  with  some  Frenchmen  who  took  turns  go- 
ing and  returning  to  Quebec,  had  been  solicited 
by  the  Hurons  to  go  down  with  them  to  trade. 
He  seized  the  opportunity  to  come  and  make  his 
retreat  at  our  convent  of  Our  Lady  of  the  An  - 
gels,  and  even  took  one  of  his  disciples,  little  Ahaut- 
sic,  whom  he  had  instructed  in  the  Faith  and  bap- 
tized. 

There  were  in  the  party  many  pretty  good 
Hurons,  among  whom  were  some  brutal  men, 
enemies  of  religion,  yet  pretending  to  love  and 
respect  the  good  Father.  A  storm  scattered  the 
canoes,  and  unfortunately  this  religious  was  left 
in  his  with  three  wicked  and  impious  Indians,  who 


OF  THE  FAITH.  245 

hurled  him  into  the  water  with  his  httle  disciple, 
Ahautsic,  at  the  last  Sault  descending  to  Mont- 
royal,  the  deep  and  rapid  waters  of  which  en- 
gulfed them  in  a  moment.  They  saved  only 
his  chapel  and  some  writings  which  he  had  drawn 
up  in  books  of  bark  paper,  comprising  a  kind  of 
mission  journal  ;  he  had  left  his  dictionary  and 
other  memoirs  among  the  Hurons  in  the  hands 
of  the  French."^'  The  place  where  this  good  re- 
ligious was  drowned  is  still  called  the  "  Sault  au 
Recollet."  f 

If  we  may  acknowledge  as  martyrs  those  who 
die  in  apostolic  labors  either  by  the  cruelty  of 
the  Indians  of  these  countries,  who  have  little  or 
no  light  of  any  divinity,  true  or  false,  we  might 
justly  acknowledge  Father  Nicholas  and  his  lit- 
tle disciple  as  the  two  first  martyrs  of  Canada. 
He  was,  moreover,  a  very  great  religious,  who, 
after  having  lived  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  came  to 
Canada  only  from  his  burning  zeal  for  martyr- 
dom.    The  pains  and  toil   he  had  to    undergo  in 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoiic  dii  Canada,"  pp.  S74-5.  ]  This  is  still  true, 


246  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

his  mission,  as  reported  by  Frenchmen  worthy 
of  credit,  cannot  be  described.  He  had  pro- 
duced much  fruit ;  and,  finally,  we  learned  from 
the  Hurons  themselves  assembled  at  the  trade  the 
cruel  manner  in  which  he  and  his  neophyte  had 
been  put  to  death,  whom  God  had  received  into 
his  glory  as  the  first  fruits  of  the  Huron  mission. 
The  Hurons  had  scattered  his  vestments,  except 
the  chalice ;  strips  of  them  were  gathered,  of 
which  they  had  made  trimmings  in  their  style  ; 
but  at  last  Fathers  Brebeuf  and  Joseph  de  la  Roche 
Dallion,  having  learned  this  sad  event,  believed 
that  it  would  be  rash  in  them  to  trust  themselves 
to  these  savages  on  so  long  a  voyage.  Accord- 
ingly, by  the  advice  of  the  wisest  Frenchmen  who 
were  there,  as  well  as  of  the  best-disposed  Hu- 
rons, who  would  not  answer  for  their  country- 
men, they  resolved  to  go  back  to  Quebec,  put- 
ting off  the  matter  for  another  year.'^  Their  ar- 
rival announced  and  soon  spread  the  news  of  the 
tragic  death   of   Father  Nicholas.       He    was   uni- 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  874, 


OF  THE  FAITH.  247 

versally  regretted  by  the  French,  Indians,  and 
even  by  the  Huguenots,  who  were  won  by  his 
talents  and  merit.  The  ordinary  rites  and  suf- 
frages were  performed  for  him,  and  his  funeral 
service  was  celebrated  with  much  solemnity,  al- 
though every  one  was  persuaded  that  God  had 
already  put  him  in  possession  of  his  glory. 
The  ships  were  ready  to  start.  Our  Fathers  and 
the  Jesuits  had  several  conferences  on  what  was 
to  be  done  for  the  good  of  the  country.  It  was 
agreed  that  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  should  go  to 
France  with  the  necessary  instructions.  The  pro- 
gress of  the  mission  was  principally  addressed  to 
the  king,  to  whom  he  had  the  honor  of  being 
known,  having  even  had  the  advantage  of  teach- 
ing his  Majesty  the  first  elements  of  the  Faith, 
tie  set  sail  at  the  close  of  August,  1625.  The  ar- 
rival of  this  good  religious  in  France,  as  well  as 
his  return  the  next  year  to  Canada,  was  pros- 
perous, f 

f  He  came  back  with  Champlain  in  1626,  sailing  April  15  and 
reaching  Quebec  July  5.  Lavcrdierc's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  pp.  96, 
124. 


248  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Meanwhile  our  Fathers  were  divided  in  the 
principal  missions,  except  that  of  the  Hurons ; 
those  who  remained  at  Quebec  spent  the  winter 
with  the  Jesuits,  rendering  all  possible  aid  to 
French  and  Indian. 

I  am  surprised  that  a  historian  attributes  to  the 
Jesuit  Father  le  Jeune  the  first  dictionary  of  the 
Montagnais  language,  as  that  missionary,  accord- 
ing to  this  Relation,  went  to  Canada  only  in 
1632.'^''  I  have  seen  another  which  says  almost 
the  same  of  the  Huron  and  Algomquin  languages. 
Yet  it  is  certain  that,  during  the  ten  years  that  the 
Recollects  were  the  only  missionaries  in  Canada, 
they  were  scattered  everywhere  in  sedentary  mis- 
sions and  the  remotest  in  every  nation,  but  parti- 
cularly in  that  of  Quebec,  whither  they  had  at- 
tracted several  cabins  of  the  Huron,  Montagnais, 
and  Algomquin  nations,  of  whose  languages  they 
had  formed  and  perfected   dictionaries,  of  which  I 


*  Le  Jeune  (Relation  1633,  pp.  2,  7;  Cicuxius,  p.  iii)  speaks  of 
studying  the  language  and  making  a  dictionaiy,  but  lays  no  claim  to  pri- 
ority, and  admits  that  he  had  received  a  small  dictionary  in  France. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  249 

have  myself  seen  several  fragments  which  have  re- 
mained to  us  in  the  handwriting  of  our  ancient 
Fathers. 

The  dictionary  of  the  Huron  language  was 
first  drafted  by  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  in  161 6. 
The  little  Huron  whom  he  took  with  him  when 
he  returned  to  Quebec  aided  him  greatly  to  ex- 
tend it.  He  also  added  rules  and  principles  dur- 
ing his  second  voyage  to  the  Hurons.  He  next 
increased  it  by  notes  which  Father  Nicholas  sent 
him,  and  at  last  perfected  it  by  that  which  that 
holy  religious  had  left  when  descending  to 
Quebec,  and  which  the  French  placed  in  his 
hands  :  so  that  Father  George,  Procurator  of  the 
mission  in  France,  presented  it  to  the  king  with 
the  two  preliminary  dictionaries  of  the  Algom- 
quin  and  Montagnais    languages  in   1625,*      It  is 


*  It  is  curious  that  Le  Clcrcq  does  not  allude  to  the  Huron  dic- 
tionary, "  Dictionaire  de  la  Langve  Hvronne  ncccssaire  a  cevx  qui 
n'ont  I'intelligence  d'icelle,  onl  a  traiter  auec  les  savvages  dv  pays," 
Paris,  1632.  It  accompanies  both  Sagard's  works,  and  is  found 
separate.  Of  the  three  presented  to  the  king  no  trace  has  ever  been 
found.     The  assertion  as  to  Recollect  interpreters  seems  doubtful, 


250  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

true  that  as  our  Fathers  had  always  kept  aloof 
from  trade,  so  as  to  avoid  the  slightest  appearance, 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Company  often  used  inter- 
preters in  their  trade  ;  but  none  of  these  interpre- 
ters had  any  knowledge  of  the  languages,  which 
they  knew  only  by  routine,  as  we  now  see  mere 
peasants  who,  after  eight  or  ten  months'  stay  in 
the  Indian  country,  understand  and  speak  the  lan- 
guage pretty  well.  It  is  mere  fancy  to  say  that 
these  interpreters  were  in  the  Company's  pay,  as, 
on  the  contrary,  the  French,  who  knew  a  little  of 
the  language,  eagerly  acted  as  interpreters,  in  or- 
der to  have  a  share  in  the  trade  themselves;  for 
in  all  other  intercourse  with  savage  nations,  either 
for  peace  or  war,  as  well  as  for  the  establishment 
of  the  Faith,  no  interpreters  were  employed  ex- 
cept the  Recollects.  So  that  what  we  find  written 
to  the  contrary  is  pure  artifice  and  imagination. 

The  task  of  our  Fathers  this  winter  after  the 
departure  of  the  ships  was  to  communicate  to  the 
reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  not  only  all  the  knowledge 
and  light  which  they  possessed  as  to  the  country, 


OF  THE  FAITH  251 

but  also  their  dictionaries,  of  wliich  a  very  exact 
revision  was  made,  to  serve  as  a  preparative  to 
the  projects  which  they  were  forming  together 
for  the  conquest  of  souls.  Undoubtedly  these 
reverend  Fathers,  who  are  very  skilful  in  teaching 
languages,  have  since  greatly  contributed  in  put- 
ting a  finishing  hand  to  the  dictionaries  which  they 
drew  up  on  our  notes  and  on  more  am})le  know- 
ledge. But  this  justice  is  due  to  our  first  labors, 
to  Christian  simplicity,  to  the  candor  of  our  Fa- 
thers, to  the  sincerity  of  their  intentions  and  their 
great  charity,  which  had  not  nor  has  any  secret  for 
those  illustrious  missionaries. 

The  winter  thus  passed  very  agreeably  for  both, 
although  in  a  suffering  and  laborious  life.  They 
worked  in  concert  to  edify  the  French,  instruct 
the  Indians  who  came  to  them  and  the  children 
who  were  in  our  seminary.  There  was  nothing 
else  in  particular  concerning  the  establishment  of 
the  Faith. 

It  is  nevertheless  seasonable  to  make  an  obser- 
vation on  the  remarks  of  a  Latin  historian  when 


252  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

he  says  in  his  preface  that  the  Recollects,  hindered 
by  the  heretics,  had  done  nothing  for  religion,  ex- 
cept among  the  French  settlers,  from  1615  to 
1625,  when  he  begins  his  history;  that  the  re- 
verend Jesuit  Fathers  established  religion  there, 
which  tottered  greatly,  and  spread  it  on  all  sides 
of  the  river  St.   Lawrence.'"' 

I  do  not  undertake  to  refute  this  epoch  of  the 
first  establishment  of  the  Faith  in  New  France  to 
its  whole  extent.  We  might  be  imposed  upon,  if 
we  were  some  centuries  off  ;  but  every  one  who 
knows   the    country  in   the  least,  and  the   people 

*  "  The  same  heretical  pravily  baffled  the  pious  labors  of  the  vene- 
rable Recollect  Fathers,  of  whose  order  when  four  priests,  Denis 
(whose  cognomen  I  have  not  found)  to  be  Commissary,  as  they  say, 
John  d'Olbeau,  Joseph  le  Caron,  Pacificus  du  Plessis,  set  sail  from 
Honfleur,  a  town  in  Normandy,  with  the  same  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
in  the  latter  part  of 'March,  1615,  wicked  men  effected  by  their  arts 
that  for  the  whole  ten  years  almost  nothing  could  be  advanced,  except 
that  they  underwent  abundant  labors  and  cares,  which,  indeed,  as  the 
Apostle  Paul  declares,  is  to  be  reckoned  a  great  benefit,  and  that  by 
their  severe  and  unblemished  discipline  of  life  and  manners  they 
retained  most  of  the  French  in  their  dut}^  and  cultivated  all  by  means 
of  the  sacraments  and  the  word  of  God,  and  fortified  them  by  the  most 
strong  and  sweet  aid  of  the  daily  sacrifice  of  Mass.  Thus,  in  the 
twenty-fifth  year  of  our  ccntur}',  all  things  were  still  wavering,"  etc. 
Creuxius,   "  Historia  Canadensis,"  Pracfatio,  p.  7. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  253 

who  are  now  there,  most  of  whom  are  descendants 
of  the  French  who  began  to  settle  in  1625,'^  know 
the  truth  and  exclaim  loudly  against  this  false- 
hood. It  is  true  that  there  were  some  heretics 
among  the  gentlemen  of  the  old  Company,  but  we 
know  that,  if  they  hindered  Frenchmen  coming  to 
Canada,  they  were  bound  to  the  king  by  treaty  to 
send  a  certain  number  of  Recollect  missionaries 
for  exploration  and  for  the  Indian  missions  through- 
out the  country.  There  came  over  indeed  a  num- 
ber of  Huguenots,  who  remained  in  Canada,  and 
Monsieur  de  Caen  even  wished  to  compel  French 
Catholics  to  attend  heretical  prayers  ;  f  but,  besides 
the  fact  that  it  was  only  in  1626  that  the  Jesuits 
were  there  as  well  as  we,  nothing  was  then  done  of 
the  kind.  Monsieur  de  Caen,  who  was  a  Calvinist, 
was  recalled.  A  Catholic  chief  was  substituted  in 
his  place  at  the  solicitation  of  Father  Joseph  le 
Caron.  Moreover,  this  did  not  concern  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Faith  among  the   Indians  here  in 

*  Few  remained  after  1629. 

t  The  Recollects  asked  their  exclusion.     Ante,  p.  in. 


254  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

question.  Would  to  God  that  from  this  time, 
1625  till  now,  our  Catholics  had  witnessed  as  much 
ardor  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  the  true 
faith  as  our  neighbors,  the  English  and  Dutch,  ^' 
have  taken  care  (with  all  the  success  that  they 
could  expect)  to  convert  the  nations  near  their 
colonies  to  their  erroneous  opinions,  to  their  pre- 
tended faith,  even  to  civilize  and  govern  them,  as 
we  have  amply  remarked  above. 

When  this  kind  of  Relations  is  read  to  people  in 
France  who  do  not  know  Canada,  they  give  such 
credit  as  they  like,  and  it  is  easy  to  make  people 
believe  when  men  come  from  afar ;  but  for  me, 
whose  only  share  is  simplicity,  the  truth  of  a  mis- 


*This  reference  shows  little  knowledge  of  history.  In  New  Eng- 
land steps  were  taken  to  found  missions  in  1644-6,  and  Eliot  began  his 
labors  in  1646.  The  Indians  formed  prajang-towns,  not  all  the  inha- 
bitants being  converts,  and  man3'  of  these  were  broken  up  b)'  Philip's 
War  before  Le  Clercq  wrote  (see  Palfrey's  "  New  England,"  i.  p.  189) ; 
and  some  Indians  from  the  New  England  praying-towns  joined  the 
missions  in  Canada.  The  Dutch  had  done  nothing  as  late  as  1656. 
O'Callaghan's  "New  Netherlands,"  ii.  p.  319.  Even  in  1690,  the  very 
year  this  work  was  printed,  there  was  no  regular  mission  in  New 
York,  and  one  single  convert  made  by  Dominie  Dellius  is  a  matter 
of  boast.       Brodhead's   "  New  York,"  ii.  p.  613. 


OF    THE  FAITH.  255 

sionary  and  a  historian,  I  merely  appeal  to  the 
sentiments  of  all  the  French  now  in  New  France, 
who  consist  perhaps  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand 
persons,  who  have  notably  increased  the  Canadian 
Church  by  multiplying  the  church  of  the  French. 
They  will  tell  you  sincerely  that  even  now  there  is 
scarcely  any  Christianity  among  the  Indians,  ex- 
cept some  individuals  in  very  small  number,  still 
uncertain  and  fickle  enough,  who  would  willing- 
ly abandon  their  religion  for  a  mere  nothing  in 
the  way  of  interest  ;  and  that  thus,  since  1625,  we 
do  not  find  a  church  more  real  and  solid  than  that 
found  there  in  that  year,  and  that,  consequently, 
either  there  was  then  a  church  beorun  amonof  these 
savages  in  the  missions  which  the  Recollects  main- 
tained, or  there  is  none  there  now.  There  has  per- 
haps been  some  success  in  civilizing  these  Indians 
more  than  they  were  ;  but  all  the  country  knows 
that  they  are  not  more  Christian,  as  nevertheless 
they  would,  to  all  appearance,  be  if  God  had  per- 
mitted the  path  then  traced  out  to  be  followed. 
This  was,  to  maintain  a  solid  peace  with  the  nations, 


256  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

to  attract  them,  mingle  them  among  the  French, 
in  order  to  render  them  men  of  order,  more  docile 
and  tractable. 

As  to  the  assertion  that  religion  tottered  in  1625, 
there  was  then  one  established.  It  is  true  that 
among  the  Indians  it  consisted  then,  as  now,  of  a 
very  small  number,  and  if  these  tottered  in  their 
faith  those  in  our  days  are  not  firmer.  But,  lastly, 
we  can  vouch  for  the  small  number  sent  to  France 
from  16 1 5,  and  for  some  who  were  in  the  semi- 
nary and  who  had  been  adopted  by  the  French 
settlers ;  while  now  none  are  seen  living  among 
French  Europeans,  but  only  in  neighboring  villages, 
cut  off  from  intercourse,  living  in  the  Indian  way, 
incompatible  with  real  Christianity,  giving  no 
signs  of  religion  but  the  chant  of  hymns  and  pray- 
ers,   or    some    exterior   and    very   equivocal    cere- 


*  It  was  one  of  the  complaints  against  the  Jesuits  at  this  time,  made 
b)'^  Frontenac  and  others,  that  they  had  not  made  the  Indians  adopt 
the  dress,  language,  and  manners  of  the  whites,  but  kept  them  isolated 
and  taught  them  in  their  own  language.  The  Recollects  were  brought 
over  to  adopt  a  different  plan.  They  did  not  succeed  at  all.  No 
Recollect  mission   has   been  continued   to  our   time,   while  the  Jesuit 


OF  THE  FAITH.  257 

Father  Joseph  le  Caron  did  his  best  in  France 
to  draw  the  king  and  persons  of  rank  and  piety 
into  the  interests  of  our  missions  and  the  Jesuit 
Fathers.  He  went  to  see  the  Reverend  Father- 
Provincial  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  gave  him  the 
letters  of  his  religious  of  which  he  was  the  bearer, 
and,  as  he  v/as  acquainted  with  the  country  by  a 
ten  years'  stay,  having  traversed  it  from  the  upper 
to  the  lower  river,  he  gave  a  very  full  detail,  so  that 
these  reverend  Fathers  took  the  mission  to  heart 
and  resolved  to  send  new  aid  there. 

The  view  of  our  Fathers  in  this  project  was  to 
obtain  for  Canada  the  establishment  of  a  Company, 
not  only  learned  and  enlightened  for  the  increase 


missions  among  the  Hurons  at  Loretto,  Abenakis  in  Maine,  and  on 
the  St.  Francis,  the  Iroquois  at  Caughnawaga  and  St.  Regis,  and  among 
the  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  on  the  Upper  Lakes,  among  the  Potta- 
watamies,  Winnebagoes,  and  Peorias,  have  been  continued  by  other 
missionaries  to  the  present  time,  and  the  Sulpitians  have  for  nearly 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  guided  an  Algonquin  and  an  Iroquois 
mission  near  Montreal.  In  this  country  missionaries  of  all  denomi- 
nations have  followed  more  or  less  the  same  plan,  and  the  immense' 
sums  expended  by  Government  have  failed  to  make  Indians  into  white 
men.  This  whole  passage  is  evidently  by  a  different  hand  from  the 
preceding  portion. 
17 


258  fFIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

and  propagation  of  the  Faith,  but  also  powerful 
enough  to  sustain  the  common  work  by  their 
credit,  so  as  to  draw  a  good  number  of  settlers 
there,  clear  the  land  and  support  the  French  and 
Indians,  help  both  temporally,  and  augment  the 
colony  by  considerable  establishments.  This  the 
Recollects  could  not  do,  on  account  of  their  state, 
having  no  portion  but  the  apostolic  word.  This 
Father  Joseph  le  Caron  represented  earnestly  to 
the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

Fathers  Noirot  and  de  la  Noue,  with  Brother 
John  Gaufestre,  Jesuits,  were  chosen  for  Canada. 
They  embarked  and  brought  over  with  them  a 
vessel  of  eighty  tons,  which  they  chartered  on 
purpose,  twenty  mechanics,  and  all  that  was  ne- 
cessary to  winter  and  settle  in  this  New  World."' 

The  king  was  then  engaged  in  warlike  opera- 
tions, and  at  court  they  did  not  lend  a  favorable 

*Champlain  sailed  from  Dieppe  May  24,  1626,  with  five  vessels. 
According  to  Laverdiere,  Champl.  (1632)  vi.  p.  97,  the  Jesuit  vessel 
was  rAlouctte.  He  reached  Quebec  July  5.  Creuxius,  "  Hist.  Cana- 
densis," p.  9,  makes  them  embark  in  April.  See  Champlain  (1632), 
p.  127. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  259 

ear  to  needed  expenses  for  distant  lands ;  yet  his 
Majesty  ordered  in  favor  of  Father  Joseph  some 
aid  for  the  instruction  of  our  Httle  seminary  and 
for  the  new  converts,  but  all  this  was  in  vain. 
The  king  found  it  necessary  to  cause  a  part  to 
be  delivered  in  his  presence  to  one  of  the  Father's 
friends. 

Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  was  in  France  on 
behalf  of  the  affairs  of  the  country  and  his  own, 
conversed  with  Father  Joseph,  and,  learning  that 
Monsieur  de  Caen,  General  of  the  fleet,  had  mo- 
lested the  Catholics  during  his  stay  at  Quebec, 
they  both  drew  up  very  humble  remonstrances  to 
the  king  to  grant  new  commissions.  His  Majesty 
ordered  that  Monsieur  de  Caen  should  not  go  on 
this  voyage,  but,  with  the  Viceroy's  approbation, 
appoint  a  Catholic  to  conduct  the  ships.  Monsieur 
de  Caen  appointed  the  Sieur  de  la  Ralde.  Mon- 
sieur de  Champlain  prepared  to  return  to  Quebec 
in  his  ordinary  capacity  of  Governor  with  the 
Sieur  du  Boule,  his  brother-in-law,  and  the  Sieur 
des  Touches,  the  one  as  lieutenant,  the  other  as 


26o     FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

ensign.*  After  which  Father  Joseph  le  Caron, 
impatient  to  be  again  in  our  missions  of  New 
France,  set  out  for  Dieppe  with  Brother  Gervase 
Mohier  and  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers.  They 
set  sail,  and  the  missionaries  arrived  safely  at 
Tadoussac,  where  the  great  trade  was  going  on. 
Our  missionary  received  them  with  all  possible 
joy.  They  witnessed  a  solemn  feast  prepared  for  a 
party  of  two  hundred  Indians,  and  soon  after  pro- 
ceeded to  Quebec,  which  this  fleet  reached  safely.f 

*  Laverdiere's  Chaniph.in  (1632),  vi.  p.  94. 
f  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  S71. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  JESUIT  FATHERS  PR(3CEED  TO  BEGIN  THEIR 
FIRST  MISSIONS  CONDUCTED  BY  THE  RECOLLECTS 
—SEVERAL  INCIDENTS  HAPPENING  IN  THAT  AND 
OTHER    MISSIONS. 

^T^HE  safe  arrival  of  these  missionaries  gave 
^  great  joy  to  all  the  mission.  The  Jesuit 
Fathers  and  ours  were  burning  with  desire  to  go 
up  to  the  Hurons,  situated  at  the  extremity  of 
the  country,  and  to  visit  many  other  surround- 
ing nations.  Father  Joseph  de  la  Roche  Dallion 
had  during  the  winter  gained  some  Hurons  of 
his  acquaintance  for  this  great  voyage,  believing 
that  he  could  trust  himself  to  them  in  their 
canoes.  As  these  savages  were  not  yet  accus- 
tomed to  the  Jesuits,  who  had  appointed  Fathers 
Brebeuf  and  de  la  None  to  go  up  with  him,  these 
Indians  refused  to  take  them,  giving  as  a  pretext 
the  weight  of  Father  Brebeuf,  who,  said  they,  was 
too  heavy  and   would    capsize  the  canoe.       These 


262  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

reverend  Fathers,  however,  having  made  some 
presents  to  others  who  were  more  civil,  they 
took  them  on  board,  and  they  made  the  voyage 
together,  which  was  a  safe  one.  '^' 

As  Father  Joseph  de  la  Roche  Dallion  had  dur- 
ing the  winter  learned  the  Huron  language  by 
means  of  the  dictionary  which  Father  Joseph  le 
Caron,  the  first  apostle  of  the  Hurons,  had  left 
him,  and  had  practised  even  at  Quebec  with  the 
Hurons  wintering  there,  and  the  French  who 
knew  the  language,  he  had  much  facility  with  Fa- 
ther Brebeuf,  who  had  also  acquired  a  tincture  to 
make  himself  understood  on  the  various  occasions 
which  they  met  in  the  course  of  the  journey. 
These  missionaries  labored  together  among  the 
Hurons,  where  the  Reverend  Father  Nicholas  Viel 
had  spent  two  whole  years.  Father  Joseph  le  Caron 
two  years  *on  two  voyages,  and  Father  William 
Poulain  some  time.  They  saw  what  had  been  es- 
tablished and  advanced  there  for  the  glory  of  God. 
They  endeavored   to  support  and  extend  it.     Fa- 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  S75. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  263 

ther  Joseph  left  the  two  Jesuit  Fathers  in  our 
house  and  pushed  on  to  the  Neutral  nation,  ^' 
where  he  made  some  progress  during  three 
months'  stay,  after  which  he  returned  to  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  in  the  Huron  country.  We  shall 
content  ourselves  with  giving  here  to  the  public 
the  abridged  Relation  which  Father  Joseph  de 
la  Roche  Dallion  sent  to  one  of  his  friends  in 
France,  taken  from  that  preserved  in  our  convent 
at  Paris : 

"SiR:t 

"  Though  far  away,  it  is  still  permitted  to  visit  our  friends 
by  missives  whicli  render  the  absent  present.  Our  Indians  are 
amazed  at  it,  seeing  us  often  write  to  our  Fathers  at  a  distance, 
and  that  by  our  letters  they  learn  our  ideas  and  what  the 
(same)  J  Indians  had  done  at  our  place  of  residence.  After 
having  made  some  stay  in  our  Canada  convent  and  communi- 
cated with  our  Fathers  and  the  (Reverend)  Jesuit  Fathers,  I 
was  imjielled  by  a  religious  affection  to  visit  the  sedentary  na- 
tions whom  we  call  Hurons,  and  with  me  tlie  reverend  Fathers 
Brebeuf  and  de  la  Noue,  Jesuits.      Having  arrived  tliere  with 

*  Called  by  the  Hurons  Attiwandaronk.  They  lay  on  both  sides  of 
the  Niagara  River. 

f  Sagard  gives  the  letter,  pp.  SSo,  etc.,  but  begins,  "Sir:  My 
humble  salutation  in  the  mercy  of  Jesus." 

:j:  The  words  in  parenthesis  arc  in  Sagard, 


264  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

all  the  hardships  that  any  one  may  imagine  by  reason  of 
the  wretched  way,  some  time  afterwards  I  received  a  letter 
from  our  reverend  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  by  which  he  en- 
couraged me  to  pass  on  to  a  nation  we  call  Neutral,  of  which 
the  interpreter  (Brusle)  told  wonders.  Encouraged,  then,  by 
so  good  a  Father  and  the  grand  account  given  me  of  these 
people,  I  started  for  their  country,  setting  out  from  the  Hu- 
rons  with  this  design  October  18,  1626,  with  a  man  called 
Grenole  and  Lavallee,  Frenclimen  by  birth. 

"  Passing  to  the  Petun  nation,  I  made  acquaintance  and 
friendship  with  an  Indian  chief  who  is  in  great  credit,  wlio 
promised  to  guide  me  to  this  Neutral  nation  and  supply 
Indians  to  carry  our  baggage  and  what  little  provision  we 
had  ;  for  to  think  to  live  in  these  countries  as  mendicants  is 
self-deceit ;  these  people  giving  only  as  far  as  you  oblige 
them,,  so  that  you  must  often  make  long  stages  and  often 
spend  many  nights  with  no  shelter  but  the  stars.  He  ful- 
filled what  he  had  promised  to  our  satisfaction,  and  we  slept 
only  five  nights  in  the  woods,  and  on  the  sixth  day  we  arrived 
at  the  first  village,  where  we  were  very  well  received,  thanks 
to  our  Lord,  and  then  at  four  other  villages,  which  envied 
each  other  in  bringing  us  food — some  venison,  others 
squashes,  neinthaouy,  *  and  the  best  they  had.  All  were 
astonished  to  see  me  dressed  as  I  was,  and  to  see  that  I  de- 
sired nothing  of  theirs,  except  that  I  invited  them  (by  signs) 
to  lift  their  eyes  to  heaven,  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and 
receive  the  Faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  What  filled  them  with 
wonder  was  to  see  me  retire  at  certain  hours  in  the  day  to 

*  Neintahouy,  Sagard,  p.  SS2.  Defined  in  his  Dictionary,  under 
"  Viande,"  to  be  Bled  rosty,  parched  corn. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  265 

pray  to  God  and  attend  to  my  spiritual  affairs  (for  tliey  had 
never  seen  religious,  except  towards  the  Petuneux  and  Hu- 
rons,  their  neighbors).  At  last  we  arrived  at  the  sixth  vil- 
lage, where  I  had  been  advised  to  remain.  I  called  a  coun- 
cil. Remark,  by  the  way,  if  you  j^lease,  that  they  call  every 
assembly  a  council.  Tiiey  hold  them  as  often  as  it  pleases 
the  chiefs.  They  sit  on  the  ground,  in  a  cabin  or  the  open 
field,  in  profound  (very  strict)  silence  while  the  chief  ha- 
rangues, and  they  are  inviolable  observers  of  what  lias  once 
been  concluded  and  resolved. 

"  There  I  told  them,  as  well  as  I  could,  that  I  came  on  be- 
half of  the  French  to  contract  alliance  and  friendship  with 
them,  and  to  invite  them  to  come  to  trade.  I  also  begged 
them  to  allow  me  to  remain  in  their  country  to  (be  able  to) 
instruct  them  in  the  law  of  our  God,  which  is  the  only  means 
of  going  to  heaven  (Paradise).  They  accepted  all  my  offers, 
and  showed  me  that  they  were  very  agreeable.  Being  much 
consoled  at  this,  I  made  tliem  a  present  of  what  little  I  hud-, 
as  little  knives  and  other  trifles,  which  they  esteem  highly. 
For  in  this  country  nothing  is  done  with  the  Indians  without 
making  them  some  kind  of  present.  In  return  they  adopted 
me,  as  they  say — that  is  to  say,  they  declared  me  a  citizen 
and  child  of  the  country,  and  gave  me  in  trust — mark  of 
great  affection — to  Souharisser  (Souharissen),  who  was  my 
father  and  host;  for,  according  to  age,  they  are  accustomed 
to  call  us  cousin,  brother,  son,  uncle,  or  nephew.  This  man 
is  the  chief  of  the  greatest  credit  and  authority  that  has 
(ever)  been  in  all  tiiese  nations ;  for  he  is  not  only  chief  of 
his  village,  but  of  all  those  of  his  nation,  composed  of  (in 
number)   twenty-eight  towns,  cities,  and   villages,  made   like 


266  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

those  in  the  Huron  country,  and  also  of  several  little  hamlets 
of  seven  or  eight  cabins,  built  in  various  parts  convenient  for 
fishing,  hunting,  or  agriculture. 

"  It  is  unexampled  in  the  other  nations  to  have  so  abso- 
lute a  chief.  He  acquired  this  honor  and  power  by  his 
courage,  and  by  having  been  repeatedly  at  war  with  seven- 
teen nations  which  are  their  enemies,  and  taken  heads  or 
brought  in  prisoners  from  them  all. 

"  Those  who  are  so  valiant  are  much  esteemed  among 
them,  and,  although  tliey  have  only  the  club,  bow,  and  arrow, 
yet  they  are,  nevertheless,  very  warlike  and  adroit  with  these 
arms.  After  all  this  cordial  welcome  our  Frenchmen  re- 
turned, and  I  remained,  the  happiest  man  in  the  world, 
hoping  to  do  sometliing  there  to  advance  God's  glory,  or 
at  least  to  discover  the  means  (which  would  be  no  small 
thing,  and  to  endeavor  to  discover  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
the  Hiroquois,  in  order  to  bring  them  to  trade). 

"  I  did  my  best  to  learn  tlieir  manners  and  way  of  living. 
During  my  stay  I  visited  them  in  their  cabins  to  know  and 
instruct  them.  I  found  them  tractable  enough,  and  I  often 
made  the  little  children,  who  are  very  bright,  naked,  and 
dishevelled,  make  the  sign  of  the  (holy)  cross.  I  remarked 
that  in  all  this  country  I  met  no  luimpback,  one-eyed,  or  de- 
formed persons.  * 

*  Here  in  Sagard  is  the  following  :  "  I  have  always  seen  them  con- 
stant in  their  resolution  to  go  with  at  least  four  canoes  to  the  trade,  if  I 
would  guide  them,  the  whole  difficult}-  being  that  we  did  not  know  the 
way.  Yroquet,  an  Indian  known  in  those  countries,  who  had  come 
there  with  twenty  of  his  men  hunting  for  beaver,  and  who  took  fully 
five  hundred,  would  never  give  us  any  mark  to  know  the  mouth  of  the 
river.     He  and  several  Hurons  assured  us  well   that  it   was  only  ten 


OF  THE  FAITH.  267 

'^  During  three  months  I  had  every  reason  in  the  world  to 
be  satisfied  with  my  people  ;  but  the  Hurons,  having  discov- 
ered that  I  talked  of  leading  them  to  the  trade,  spread  in  all 
the  villages  where  he  passed  very  bad  reports  about  me  :  that 
I  was  a  great  magician  ;  that  I  had  tainted  the  air  of  their 
country  and  poisoned  many  ;  that  if  they  did  not  kill  me 
soon  I  would  set  fire  to  their  villages  and  kill  all  their  chil- 
dren. In  fine,  I  was,  as  they  said,  a  great  Atatanite — that  is 
their  word  to  mean  him  who  performs  sacrileges,*  whom 
they  hold  in  great  horror.  And  know,  by  the  way,  that 
there  are  a  great  many  sorcerers  who  pretend  to  heal  dis- 
eases by  mummeries  and  other  fancies.  In  a  word,  the 
Hurons  told  them  so  much  evil  of  us  to  prevent  their  going 
to  trade :f  that  the  French  were  unapproachable,  rude,  sad, 
melancholy  people,  who  live  only  on  snakes  and  poison  ;  that 
we  eat  thunder,  which  they  imagine  to  be  an  unparalleled 
chnnera,  relating  a  thousand  strange  stories  about  it ;  that  we 
all  had  a  tail  like  animals;  that  the  women  have  only  one  nip- 
ple in  the  centre  of  the  breast  ;  that  they  bear  five  or  six 
children  at  a  time,  adding  a  thousand  other  absurdities  to 
make  us  hated  by  them  and  prevent  their  trading  with  us,   so 


da3's'  journey  to  the  trading-place  ;  but  we  were  afraid  of  taking  one 
river  for  another,  and  losing  our  way  or  dying  of  hunger  on  the  land." 

This  was  evidently  the'  Niagara  River  and  the  route  through  Lake 
Ontario.  He  apparently  crossed  the  river,  as  he  was  on  the  Iroquois 
frontier.  The  omission  of  the  passage  by  Le  Clercq  was  evidently 
caused  by  the  allusion  to  trade. 

*  Sortileges  {i.e.,  magical  rites).     Sagard,  p.  886. 

f  Always  told  them  so  much  evil  of  the  French  as  they  were  able 
to  devise,  to  divert  them  from  trading  with  them, 


268  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

that  they  might  have  the  trade  with  these  nations   themselves 
exclusively,  which  is  very  profitable  to  them. 

"  In  fact,  these  good  people,  who  are  very  easy  to  persuade, 
grew  very  suspicious  of  me.  As  soon  as  any  one  fell  sick  they 
came  to  ask  me  whether  it  was  not  true  that  I  had  poisoned 
him,  and  that  they  would  surely  kill  me  if  I  did  not  cure  him. 
I  had  great  difficulty  in  excusing  and  defending  myself. 
At  last  ten  men  of  the  last  village,  called  Ouaroronon,  * 
one  day's  journey  from  the  Iroquois,  their  relatives  and 
friends,  coming  to  trade  at  our  village,  came  to  visit  me  and 
invited  me  to  come  and  see  them  in  their  village.  I  prom- 
ised to  do  so  without  fail  when  the  snows  ceased  (melted), 
and  to  give  tliem  all  some  little  presents  (trifles),  with  which 
they  seemed  satisfied.  Thereupon  they  left  the  cabin  where 
I  was  living,  always  concealing  their  evil  designs  against  me. 
Seeing  that  it  was  growing  late,  they  came  back  after  me  and 
abruptly  began  a  quarrel  without  provocation.  One  knocked 
me  down  with  a  blow  of  his  fist,  another  took  an  axe  and 
tried  to  split  my  head.  God  averted  his  hand  ;  the  blow  fell 
on  a  bar  (post)  near  me.  I  also  received  much  other  ill-treat- 
ment ;  but  that  is  what  we  came  to  seek  in  this  country.  Be- 
coming somewhat  appeased,  they  vented  their  wrath  on  what 
little  goods  were  left  us  ;  they  took  our  writing-desk,  blanket, 
breviary,  and  bag,  which  contained  some  knives,  needles,  awls, 
and  other  small  objects  of  the  kind.  And  having  thus  strip- 
ped me,  they  went  off  all  that  night,  full  of  joy  at  their  ex- 
ploit.    On  arriving  at  their  village  and   examining   the  spoil, 

*  Tliis  is  a  tribal  name,  ronon  signifying  people.  They  came  from 
a  village  of  the  tribe  called  in  Rel.,  1635,  p.  34,  Ahouenrochronon  ; 
Rel.,  1639,  p.  59,  Ouenrohronon. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  269 

touched,  perhaps,  by  repentance  coming  from  the  Most  High, 
they  sent  me  back  our  breviary,  compass,  desk,  blanket,  and 
bag — empty,  however.  When  they  arrived  in  my  village, 
called  Ounontisaston,  there  were  only  women  there.  The  men 
had  gone  to  hunt  stags.  On  their  return  they  declared  that 
they  were  much  grieved  at  the  misfortune  which  had  befallen 
me  (after  which  no  more  was  said  about  it). 

"The  report  at  once  spread  to  the  Hurons  that  I  had  been 
killed.  On  this  the  good  Fathers  Brebeuf  and  de  la  Noue, 
who  remained  there,  sent  Grenole  to  me  at  once  to  learn  the 
truth,  with  orders  to  bring  me  back  if  I  was  still  alive.  The 
letter  they  wrote  me  (with  the  pen  of  their  good-will)  also  in- 
vited me  to  do  so.  I  did  not  wish  to  gainsay  them,  as 
this  was  their  advice  and  that  of  all  the  Frenchmen,  who 
feared  more  misfortune  than  profit  by  my  death;  I  according- 
ly returned  to  the  Huron  country,  where  I  now  am,  all  ad- 
miring the  divine  effects  of  Heaven. 

!  "The  country  of  this  Neutral  nation  is  incomparably  larger, 
more  beautiful,  and  better  than  any  other  of  all  these  countries. 
There  is  an  incredible  number  of  stags,*  great  abundance  of 
moose  or  elk,  beaver,  wild-cats,  and  black  squirrels  larger  than 
the  French  ;  a  great  quantity  of  wild  geese,  turkeys,  cranes, 
and  other  animals,  which   are   there  all   winter,  which   is  not 

*  Here  Sagard  has,  "  which  they  do  not  take  one  by  one,  as  is  done 
on  this  side,  but,  making  three  enclosures  in  a  spacious  place,  they  run 
them  all  ahead,  so  that  they  enclose  them  in  this  place,  where  they 
take  them,  and  have  this  maxim  for  all  kinds  of  animals,  whether  they 
need  them  or  not,  that  they  must  kill  all  they  find,  for  fear,  as  they  say, 
that  if  they  do  not  take  them  the  beasts  would  go  and  tell  the  others 
how  they  had  been  hunted,  and  that  then,  in  time  of  want,  they  would 
not  find  any  more." 


2  70  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

long  and  rigorous  as  in  Canada.  No  snow  had  fallen  by  the 
22d  of  November,  and  it  never  was  over  two  feet  deep,  and 
began  to  melt  on  the  26th  of  January.  On  the  8th  of  March 
there  was  none  at  all  in  the  open  places,  though  there  was  a 
little  indeed  still  left  in  the  low  grounds  (woods).  A  stay 
there  is  quite  recreating  and  convenient  ;  the  rivers  fur- 
nish much  excellent  fish;  the  earth  gives  good  grain,  more 
than  is  needed.  They  have  squashes,  beans,  and  other  vege- 
tables in  abundance,  and  very  good  oil,  which  they  call 
Atouronton  (a  Touronton).*  So  that  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  we  should  settle  there  rather  than  elsewhere. 
Undoubtedly  with  a  longer  stay  there  would  be  hope  of  ad- 
vancing God's  glory,  which  should  be  more  sought  than 
aught  else,  and  tlieir  conversion  to  the  faith  is  more  to  be 
hoped  for  than  that  of  the  Hurons.f     Their  real    business  is 

*  This  seems  the  earliest  allusion  to  petroleum.  Sagard  says 
Otouronton  does  not  mean  oil,  but  much,  or  rather  :  Oh  !  how  mucli 
there  is  of  it.    "  Histoire,"  p.  893. 

f  Sagard  adds  :  "  And  I  am  astonished  how  the  Company  of  Mer- 
chants, since  the  time  they  came  to  these  parts,  have  not  sent  some 
Frenchmen  to  winter  in  the  said  country.  I  say  positively  that  it 
would  be  very  easy  to  bring  them  to  trade,  which  would  be  a  great  ad- 
vantage to  go  and  eome  by  so  short  and  easy  a  route  as  I  have  already 
told  you.  For  there  is  scarcely  an)^  inducement  to  go  to  trade  with  the 
Hurons  over  so  man}^  difficult  rapids,  always  in  danger  of  being 
drowned,  and  then  to  make  a  six  days'  journey  from  the  Hurons  to 
this  countr}',  crossing  the  lands  by  fearful  and  terrible  routes  as  I  have 
seen  ;  these  are  insupportable  hardships,  and  he  alone  knows  it  who 
has  found  himself  there.  Now,  I  say  that  the  associated  gentlemen 
ought,  in  my  opinion,  to  send  some  Frenchmen  to  winter  in  the  coun- 
try of  the  Neuters,  less  remote  than  that  of  the  Hurons,  for  they  can 
proceed  by  the  lake  of  the  Hiroquois  to  the  trading  place  in,  at  most. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  271 

hunting  and  war.  Out  ot  that  they  are  very  lazy,  and  you 
see  them,  like  beggars  in  France,  when  they  have  their  fill, 
lying  on  their  belly  in  the  sun.  Their  life,  like  that  of  the 
Hurons,  is  very  impure,  and  their  manners  and  customs  are 
quite  the  same.  Their  language  is  different,  however,  yet 
tiiey  understood  each  other,  as  (the  Algoumequins  and)  Mon- 
tagnais  do.* 

ten  days.  This  lake  is  theirs  also,  the  one  on  one  side,  and  the  others 
on  the  other.  But  I  see  one  obstacle,  which  is  that  the)^  know  little 
about  managing  canoes,  especially  at  rapids,  although  there  are  only 
two,  but  these  are  long  and  dangerous." 

*  Le  Clercq's  omission  here  destroys  the  sense.  Here  Sagard  adds  : 
"  As  for  clothes,  do  not  seek  any,  for  they  do  not  wear  even  breech- 
cloths,  which  is  very  strange,  and  is  scarcely  found  even  in  the  most  bar- 
barous nations.  And,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  it  would  not  be  expedient 
that  all  sorts  of  persons  should  pass  here,  for  the  evil  life  of  some 
Frenchmen  is  a  pernicious  example  before  them,  and  in  all  these  coun- 
tries the  nations,  although  barbarous,  reproach  us  with  it,  saying  that 
we  teach  them  things  contrary  to  what  our  French  practise.  Think, 
sir,  of  what  weight  our  words  could  be  after  that  ;  yet  something  better 
is  to  be  hoped,  for  what  consoled  me  on  mj'^  return  was  to  see  that  our 
fellow-countrymen  had  made  their  peace  with  our  Lord,  having  con- 
fessed and  received  communion  at  Easter,  and  had  put  away  their  wo- 
men, and  have  since  been  more  guarded. 

"  I  must  tell  3'ou  that  our  Fathers  have  been  treated  so  harshly  that 
even  two  men,  of  whom  the  Jesuit  Fathers  deprived  themselves  to  ac- 
commodate them,  have  been  forcibl}'  driven  awa)',  and  that  they  have 
not  been  willing  to  give  any  food  to  maintain  and  nourish  some  Indian 
children  who  wished  to  live  with  us,  although  we  promised  to  make  it 
all  up  to  them  by  aid  from  some  of  our  benefactors.  It  is  cruel  to  be 
treated  in  this  way  by  the  very  men  of  our  own  nation,  but  since  we 
are  Friars  Minor  our  condition  is  to  suffer  and  to  pray  that  God  may 
give  us  patience."     Sagard,  p.  891. 


272  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

"  They  say  that  two  new  Fathers  have  come  to  us  from 
France,  named  Father  Daniel  Boursier  and  Fatlier  Francis  de 
Binville,  who  had  been  promised  us  last  year.  If  this  is  so  I 
beg  you,  in  addition  to  all  the  trouble  you  take  for  me,  to  let 
me  have  by  a  safe  hand  a  habit  that  is  sent  me.  It  is  all 
I  ask  (for  there  is  no  cloth  made  here,  and,  ours  being  all 
worn  out,  I  cannot  do  without  one).  The  poor  religious  of 
St.  Francis,  having  food  and  raiment,  have  all  their  earthly 
portion.  We  hope  heaven  from  Go'd's  goodness  (by  the 
favor  of  our  good  God),  and  for  it  most  willingly  serve  in 
the  salvation  of  these  blinded  nations  ;  we  risk  our  lives,  in 
order  that  it  may  please  him,  if  he  accepts  our  efforts,  to 
make  Christianity  bud  forth  in  these  countries.  God  permits 
martyrdom  to  those  who  deserve  it.  I  regret  that  I  am  not 
in  a  fit  state,  and,  nevertheless,  am  not  ignorant  that  to  be 
recognized  as  a  true  child  of  God  we  must  expose  our- 
selves for  our  brethren.  Let  pain  and  toil  come  bravely 
then  ;  all  difficulties  and  death  itself  will  be  agreeable  to  me 
if  God's  grace  is  with  me,  which  I  beg  by  means  of  the 
prayers  of  all  our  good  friends  over  there,  of  whom  and  of 
you,   sir,   I  am 

"  The  most  humble  servant  in  our  Lord, 

"  JOSEPH  DE  LA  ROCHE  DALLION. 

"  Dated  at  Tonachin  (Toanchain),  a  Huron  village,  this 
i8th  July,   1627." 

While  these  things  were  passing  among  distant 
nations  during  the  years  1626  and  1627,  the  mis- 
sionaries  of   the   two    institutes    continued    their 


OF  THE  FAITH.  273 

labors  down  the  river.  Our  Recollects  even  went 
to  a  little  mission  formed  at  Cape  Tourment, 
seven  leagues  below  Quebec,  where  an  advanced 
fort  had  been  constructed  for  the  defence  of  the 
country  not  only  against  the  Indians,  but  chiefly 
against  our  European  enemies. 

Two  remarkable  circumstances  happened  at 
Quebec  in  regard  to  two  young  Indians.  One 
was  Peter  Anthony,*  godson  of  the  Prince  de 
Guimenee,  whom  Father  Joseph  had  brought  from 
France.  He  wintered  in  our  Seminary  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Angels,  but  as  he  had  lost  all  idea 
of  his  natural  language  and  the  Indian  mode  of 
life,  he  was  a  naturalized  Frenchman  and  very 
devout.  He  avoided  intercourse  with  the  few 
Indians  who  came.  Our  Fathers  judged  proper  to 
send  him  to  make  some  stay  in  his  own  country, 
that,  resuming  his  language,  he  might  announce 
the  kingdom  of  God  with  the  missionaries.  He 
long  showed  a  repugnance,  begging  the  Father 
Superior,  with  tears  in   his  eyes,   to  dispense  him. 

■*Ante,  p.  235. 
18 


2  74  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

"How,  Father,"  said  he,  "would  your  reverence 
send  me  among  those  beasts  who  know  not  God  ?  " 
But  the  Superior  overcame  him  by  reasons  of 
grace,  telHng  him  that  it  was  to  make  them  know 
God,  to  help  and  contribute  to  the  salvation  of  his 
kindred  and  countrymen.  He  was  confirmed  by 
giving  him  rules  of  conduct,  and  we  may  say  that 
he  rendered  great  service  to  the  mission  under  the 
guidance  and  direction  of  our  Fathers."^' 

The  memory  of  the  Reverend  Father  Nicholas 
Viel  was  in  singular  veneration  among  the  Hurons 
when  he  set  out  on  the  voyage  on  which  he  was 
put  to  death.  A  head  of  family,  who  was  attached 
to  him,  had  promised  to  go  down  and  take  him 
his  son.  He  kept  his  word  ;  he  came  to  Quebec 
the  same  year,  1626,  and  brought  his  son  to  be 
instructed  in  our  convent.  He  was  received  and 
brought  up  for  some  time  by  the  Superior  with 
great  care.  This  boy  was  particularly  distinguish- 
ed among  all  those  in  the  seminary.  He  was  six- 
teen years  old,  well  made,  had  talent,  showed  docil- 

*  Sagard,   "  Histoire,"  p.   865. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  275 

ity,  was  amiable  and  by  no   means  fickle  like  the 
rest,  so  that  when  the  ships  were   on   the   point  of 
startins:  for  France   several  were  eao-er  to  have  the 
boy.      He  clearly  belonged  to  us  as  the  conquest 
of  Father   Nicholas,  and,  moreover,  his  father  had 
put  him  in  Father  Joseph   le  Caron's  hands.      Yet 
the   Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  wished  to  have  him, 
and  the  Sieur  Emeric  de  Caen  asked  him   of  us. 
At  last,   as  Father  Noyrot   was  going  to  France, 
Father   Joseph    yielded    this    young    neophyte   to 
him.     This  could  not  be  done  without  the  consent 
of  the  young   Huron's  father,  who  used  duplicity. 
Father  Joseph  asked  him   for  the  Jesuits,  and    he 
did    not  wish   to  disoblige   him.      He   had  also  to 
conciliate    the  Sieur    de  Caen  on   account   of   the 
trade.      He  promised   him   to  both,   received   their 
presents,  leaving    him,   nevertheless,  all    the    wdiile 
on   deposit  in  Father   Joseph's    hands    till  the  de- 
parture  of    the   vessels,  when   the   Sieur  de    Caen 
pretended    that    he    had    the    right   to    him.      He 
embarked    him,  in   fact,  and  took  him  to  Rouen  ; 
but  the    Jesuit   Fathers,   by    Monsieur   de  Venta- 


276    FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

dour's  authority,  obtained  him  from  his  hands, 
and  afterwards  took  the  honor  to  themselves  with 
great  eclat.  The  archbishop  administered  baptism 
to  him  solemnly  in  the  cathedral  church  of  Rouen, 
where  Monsieur  de  Longueville  and  Madame  de 
Villehars  held  him  over  the  font.  He  was  chris- 
tened Louis  de  Sainte  Foi  amid  a  countless  crowd 
of  people,  the  report  having  spread  that  he  was 
son  of  the  king;  of  Canada,  while  in  fact  he  was 
only  the  son  of  a  miserable  Indian.* 

*  Louis  Amantachn.  See  Lalemant,  Relation  1626,  p.  g.  During 
the  English  occupation  he  lost  his  fervor  (Laverdiere's  Champlain 
[1632],  vi.  p.  267  ;  Creuxius,"  Historia  Canadensis,"  p.  11),  but  became 
a  support  of  the  missionaries  afterwards  (Rel.  1632,  p.  14  ;  1633,  p.  31, 
etc.;  1635,  p.  39;  1636,  p.  71),  although  he  was  taken  b}' the  Iroquois 
(Rel.  1634,  p.  SS).  On  April  29,  1627,  Cardinal  Richelieu  passed  the 
"  Act  for  the  establishment  of  the  Companj^  of  One  Hundred  Asso- 
ciates."    "  Edits  et  Ordonnances,"  i.  p.  5. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE     REVEREND     JESUIT     FATHERS    ARE     TRAVERSED 

AGAIN      IN       THEIR       ESTABLISHMENT TRAGICAL 

FATE     OF      THE     CANADA      FLEET UNFORTUNATE 

ACCIDENTS    WHICH    BEFELL    THE    COLONY. 

^T  fE  mentioned,  though  but  incidentally,  a  voy- 
age to  France  proposed  by  the  rev.  Father 
Noyrot,  Jesuit.  He  executed  it  in  the  year  1626, 
and  went  back  in  the  same  ship  in  which  he  came 
to  Canada,  in  order  to  procure  a  more  solid  estab- 
lishment and  obtain  more  abundant  succor  for  the 
country,  where  most  frequently  there  was  a  want 
of  everything,  and  finally  to  complain  of  the  Sieur 
Emeric  de  Caen  and  the  Sieur  de  la  Ralde,  who 
greatly  traversed  the  Fathers  of  his  Society  and 
even  troubled  the  Catholic  settlers.  He  had  con- 
ferred with  the  reverend  Father  George  le  Baillif, 
Procurator  of  the  Recollects  of  Canada,  to  sup- 
port the  interests  of  the   missions,  which   zeal   for 


2yH  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

God's  glory  and  charity  made  both  esteem  aHke. 
The  Sieurs  de  Caen  and  de  la  Ralde  sailed  the 
same  year. 

We  will  say  nothing  of  the  negotiations  of  these 
two  religious  in  France  till  their  return,  finding  no 
important  circumstances.  Father  George  obtained 
some  little  aid  for  the  support  of  the  seminary  and 
missions.  Father  Noyrot,  whose  establishment  in 
Canada  was  not  yet  begun  (the  Reverend  Jesuit 
Fathers  doing  us  the  favor  to  continue  their  stay  in 
our  convent),  had  need  of  greater  efforts.  He  fit- 
ted out  a  ship  furnished  with  all  necessaries  ;  but  the 
Sieurs  de  Caen  and  de  la  Ralde  took  umbrage,  and 
having,  moreover,  heard  that  the  Fathers  had  made 
some  complaints  about  their  conduct,  these  mer- 
chants acted  so  skilfully  that  they  stopped  what 
was  on  account  of  the  Jesuits.*  Although  Father 
George  had  shared  in  the  same  complaints,  these 
gentlemen  nevertheless  received  on  board,  as  they 
vV'Cre  bound  to  do  by  their  treaty,  whatever  was  for 
the  Recollects.     Some  bales  and  utensils  were  also 

*  See  Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  p.  145. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  279 

put  on  board,  under  their  name,  for  the  account  of 
the  Jesuit  Fathers.  The  Sieur  de  la  Ralde  was 
somewhat  displeased  at  it,  for  he  showed  it  at  least 
in  words  to  our  Fathers  in  Canada,  when  he  ar- 
rived there  safely  with  his  fleet,  so  much  so  that 
when  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  on  his  return  to 
France,  asked  him  to  take  a  young  Indian  whom 
he  had  instructed  in  the  Faith  and  baptized  by  the 
name  of  Louis,  he  refused  to  do  so. 

Missionaries  of  both  institutes  were  equally  cha- 
grined at  the  news  that  the  intrigues  of  the  Sieurs 
de  Caen  and  de  la  Ralde  had  prevailed  in  France 
against  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  which,  depriv- 
ing them  of  their  expected  reinforcement  and  the 
supplies  necessary  for  their  support  and  buildings, 
almost  crushed  their  project  at  its  birth.  They  were 
already  forming  a  resolution  to  return  to  France,"^' 
and  had  Fathers  Brebeuf  and  de  la  Noue  been  at 
Quebec  they  were  all  ready  to  give  the  whole  up, 
convinced  even  then  that  no  great  fruit  was  to   be 

"  Laverdierc's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  p.  145.  They  were  preparing 
to  send  back  the  workmen,  whom  they  were  unable  to  winter. 


28o  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

gained  in  converting  the  Indians,  and  that  they 
were  deprived  of  the  means  of  estabhshing  them- 
selves and  increasing  the  colony ;  but,  encouraged 
by  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  and  our  other  missiona- 
ries, and  animated,  too,  by  some  secret  motives 
that  flattered  them  with  better  hopes  after  all  these 
contradictions,  Father  Lallemant,  the  Superior,  re- 
solved to  leave  the  rest  of  his  Jesuit  brethren  and 
go  back  alone  with  twenty  mechanics.* 

We  had  at  this  time  another  cfrief.  Monsieur 
Hebert,  the  first  settler  of  the  colony,  of  whom  we 
have  spoken  in  the  beginning  of  our  history,  fell 
sick,  exhausted  by  the  hardships  he  had  undergone, 
and  after  lingering  some  days  he  paid  the  debt  of 
nature.  His  death  was  universally  regretted.  He 
may  be  called  the  Abraham  of  the  colony,  the  father 
of  the  living  and  faithful,  since  his  posterity  has 
become  as  numerous  as  we  have  heretofore  said  : 
that  it  has  produced  many  officers,  civil  and  mili- 
tary, able   merchants   in  trade,  worthy  ecclesiastics, 

*  He  sailed  carl}'  in  September  willi  de  la  Ralde.  Crciixius, 
"  Hist.   Canad.,"  p.  13. 


OF  THE  FAITH  28 1 

finally  a  great  number  of  good  Christians,  many  of 
whom  have  suffered  much  and  others  been  killed  by 
the  Indians  in  the  common  cause."^'  He  was  sol- 
emnly buried  in  our  cemetery  ;  but  as  the  place  was 
disturbed  after  our  re-establishment  in  Canada,  his 
bones  were  found  in  1678,  still  enclosed  in  a  cedar 
coffin.  The  Rev.  Father  Valentine  le  Roux,  then 
Commissary  and  Superior  of  all  our  missions,  had 
it  taken  up  from  that  spot  and  solemnly  transport- 
ed to  the  vault  of  the  chapel  of  our  convent  church 
which  he  had  built ;  and  the  body  of  him  who  had 
been  the  stock  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  is 
the  first  whose  bones  rest  in  that  vault,  with  those 
of  Brother  Pacificus  du  Plessis.  Madam  Couil- 
lard,  daughter  of  Sieur  Hebert,  who  was  still  alive, 
had  herself  carried  there,  desiring  to  witness  this 
translation. 

Although  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  were  a 
little  disgusted  with  the  mission  on  account  of 
the   contradictions  we   have   mentioned,  they  soon 

*  He  died  January  25,  1627.  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p. 
5gi  ;  Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  p.  132. 


282  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

resumed  courage.  Our  Fathers,  who  had  made  it 
an  affair  of  God  to  have  them  as  associates  and  to 
effect  their  estabhshment  with  all  their  power, 
wished  to  facilitate  the  means.  They  had  lent 
them  a  house-frame,  all  ready  to  put  up,  for  a  new 
building  of  about  forty  feet  long  by  twenty-eight 
wide,  with  which  we  intended  to  enlarge  our  semi- 
nary, and  this  present  year,  1627,  they  also  lent 
them  another  which  they  had  prepared  to  extend 
our  convent.  These  Reverend  Fathers  accepted 
them  cheerfully  in  the  necessity  to  wdiich  so  much 
opposition  had  reduced  them,  and  they  used  them 
in  the  buildings  which  they  raised  l)eyond  the 
little  river,  eight  or  nine  hundred  paces  from  us.* 
About  this  time  occurred  a  very  tragic  accident, 
happily  repaired  by  the  skill  of  Monsieur  de  Cham- 
plain  and  the  conversion  of  some  Indians. 

A  certain  Mahican-aticouche,  a  Montagnais  by 
nation,  killed   two    Frenchmen  f    who  were   asleep 

*  "  At  the  place  commonly  called  Jacques  Cartier's  fort,"  says 
Sagaid,  "  Histoirc,"  p.  868.     He  says  40  b}'  23. 

f  Henry  and  Dumoulin,  in  October,  1627,  apparently  at  La  Canar- 
diere.     Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  p.  150;  Sagard,  895,  913. 


OF    THE  FAITH.  283 

by  the  water-side,  wrapped  in  their  blankets. 
This  Indian  had  been  ill-treated  by  Madame 
Hebert's  baker  and  by  another  whom  he  asked 
for  bread,  perhaps  too  importunately.  He  watched 
them,  and,  believing  those  to  be  the  same  who  were 
asleep  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  he  killed  them 
with  hatchet  strokes  and  threw  them  into  the 
water.  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  who  was  return- 
ing from  Cape  Tourment,  first  saw  the  blood  along 
the  beach  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and,  suspect- 
ing the  crime  that  had  happened,  had  the  two 
bodies  sought  and  buried  in  our  chapel  at  Quebec. 
The  murderer  was  sought,  but  he  had  fled  to  the 
woods  to  escape  the  justice  of  the  French,  and 
the  Sieur  de  Champlain  kept  one  of  his  children 
as  a  hostage  till  he  appeared  at  Quebec  with 
the  other  Montagnais.  Meanwhile  these  savages, 
wishing  to  appease  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  and 
knowing  the  extreme  pleasure  that  he  took  in 
getting  Indian  children  to  have  them  brought 
up  in  Christianity,  they  asked  him,  through 
Father  Joseph   le  Caron,    whether   he   would    not 


284  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

accept  three  of  their  daughters  to  take  them  to 
France.  The  Sieur  de  Champlain  accepted  them 
very  willingly,  the  more  so  as  he  could  never  con- 
vict the  one  suspected  of  having  committed  these 
two  murders.  He  took  particular  care  of  their 
education,  and,  having  had  them  instructed  in  the 
truths  of  Christianity,  he  did  them  the  honor  of 
being  their  sponsor.  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  bap- 
tized them,  and  Monsieur  de  Champlain  gave 
these  three  girls  the  names  of  Faith,  Hope,  and 
Charity.* 

As  to  the  accident  which  gave  occasion  to  the 
rupture  of  the  peace  between  the  Iroquois,  our 
allies,  and  us,  it  did  not  terminate  so  happily  ;  for 
the  Iroquois  having  killed  a  Frenchman  named 
Peter  Magnian,  with  three  Indians,  because  the 
Algonquins  had  previously  killed  some  Iroquois, 
peace  w;is  broken  and  war  was  enkindled  more  fu- 
riously than  ever.f 

These  disorders  were  followed   by  another  mis- 

*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  vi.  p.  155-6  ;  Sagard,  p.  913. 
\  This  occurred  in  July-Aug.,  1627  ;   lb.,  p.  142. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  285 

fortune  which  reduced  Canada  to  the  grreatest  ex- 

« 

tremity  by  the  defeat  and  capture  of  ^  the  fleet 
which  was  coming  to  Canada,  commanded  by  the 
Sieur  de  Rocmont.  The  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers, 
having  resumed  courage  in  France,  had  sent  out  on 
it  two  of  their  Fathers ;  "^  we  had  also  two  mission- 
aries on  board.  Fathers  Daniel  Boursier  and  Fran- 
cis Girard,  Recollects  of  Paris.  This  fleet,  com- 
posed of  large  vessels,  set  sail  from  Dieppe  about 
mid-April,  1628.  It  defended  itself  successfully 
against  two  Rochelle  ships  when  leaving  the  Eng- 
lish Channel.  Never  was  voyage  more  crossed. 
At  last,  on  the  river  St.  Law^rence,  they  fell  into 
the  hands  of  an  English  fleet.  A  battle  ensued, 
but  our  fleet  was  beaten. f  The  English  captured 
a  number  of  Basque  J  ships  employed  in  fishing, 
carried  off  our  people,  and  put  ashore  at  Cape 
Breton  several  Frenchmen  and  our  two  Fathers, 
from  whom  they  could  expect  nothing.  The 
English  left  them  one  of  the  Basque  ships  which 

*  Father  Charles  Lalemant  and  John  Ragueneau.     Creuxius,  p.  19. 
f  July  19.     Creuxius.  I  Barque  in  text. 


286  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

they  had  taken  ;  but  some  of  the  Basques,  liv- 
ing escaped  from  their  victors,  found  the  means 
of  coming  in  boats  and  suddenly  seized  their  ves- 
sels as  their  own ;  so  that  our  religious  and  the 
French,  among  whom  was  a  gentleman""  with  his 
family, -a  physician,  and  other  persons,  were  left 
ashore  and  remained  without  a  ship.  The  ladies, 
and  especially  the  gentleman's  wife  and  three 
daughters,  gave  admirable  proofs  of  virtue.  The 
sailors  passed  in  a  sloop  to  Placentia  island,  and 
thence  to  France  in  ships  which  they  foun^  there. 
Our  poor  religious,  after  much  constancy,  found 
their  resource  in  a  wretched  I3asque  fly-boat  which 
came  by  chance,  and  which  was  soon  joined  by  two 
others  that  were  little  better,  having  been  roughly 
handled  in  a  storm  which  the  one  bearing  our 
Fathers  escaped  miraculously  by  a  vow  made  to 
our  Father,  St.  Francis ;  but  it  was  only  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  a  Turkish  corsair,  to  whom  they  aban- 
doned the  vessel,  the  poor  passengers  escaping  in 
the    boat   to   the   Spanish   coast,  which    they    had 

"■  Sieur  le  Faucher.     Sagard,  p.  953. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  287 

sighted.  They  arrived  at  Bayona,  in  Galicia,  where 
they  received  every  kindness  from  the  governor 
and  his  wife.  The  crew  found  positions  elsewhere. 
Our  Fathers  and  the  rest  of  the  French  reached 
Sant  Jago,'^  where  the  archbishop  and  cardinals 
who  were  there  at  the  time  distributed  to  them  all 
that  was  necessary  for  their  stay  and  voyage  to  the 
colony.  The  governor  sent  them  in  his  brigantine 
to  the  city  of  Har.f  with  orders  to  entertain  them 
honorably  in  the  town-house  as  long  as  they  should 
desire,  which  was  done  faithfully  during  the  two 
weeks  that  they  remained.  There  they  waited  in 
vain   the  fitting  out   of  a  vessel  for  France. 

They  had  to  go  on  foot  to  the  town  of  Fou- 
rolle,J  where  they  eml)arked  in  a  pinnace  and  ar- 
rived safely  at  Bayonne,  in  Languedoc.  It  would 
take  too  long  to  express  all  the  pains  they  suffered 
in  the  voyage  of  three  hundred  leagues  they  were 
obliged  to  make  to  Paris.  The  news  of  this  sad 
mishap  reached  Quebec,  where  the  settlers,  de- 
prived of  everything,  suffered  the  greatest  misery.§ 

*  Compostella.  f  Perhaps  Arosa.  j^  Ferrol. 

§   Sagard,  "  Histoirc  du  ("anada,"  pp.  945-971. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

NEW    MISFORTUNES    CAUSED    BY  THE     DESCENT    AND 

IRRUPTION    OF    THE    ENGLISH  IN      1 628 CAPTURE 

AND      DESOLATION      OF      THE  COUNTRY      BY     THE 
SAID    ENGLISH    IN     1629. 

/^~^  OD  is  admirable  in  the  conduct  of  his  pro- 
^-^  vidence  ;  he  has  designs  which  are  impene- 
trable to  us  in  their  outset,  in  their  ends,  and  in 
their  effects.  The  colony  of  New  France  seemed 
to  take  form  from  day  to  day.  For  some  years  dis- 
coveries and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  had  been 
greatly  extended.  Commerce  was  increasing,  the 
French  were  multiplying,  chapels  and  oratories 
were  built  in  several  places,  the  country  assumed  a 
form  of  government  and  order,  when  God  permitted 
the  defeat  of  the  colony,  of  Catholicity,  order,  laws, 
and  commerce  with  France. 

The  English  then  favored  the  heretics  and  rebels 
in  France,  wdiom   Louis  the  Just  was  everywhere 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.     289 

subduing.  Some  English  partisans  equipped  a 
fleet  to  seize  Canada  in  1628.  Two  little  towers 
on  the  fort  of  Quebec,  which  fell  of  themselves  in 
calm  weather  on  the  9th  of  July,  seemed  to  pre- 
sage the  evils  of  New  France.'^' 

The  English,  on  their  way,  took  a  ship  which  we 
had  at  Isle  Percee,f  advanced  to  Tadoussac,  and 
by  means  of  a  bark  which  they  found  sent  twen- 
ty men  to  seize  Cape  Tourment.  Two  Indians  J 
escaped  and  gave  warning  at  Quebec.  Monsieur 
de  Champlain  at  once  asked  Father  Joseph  to  go 
on  and  ascertain  the  truth.  The  alarm  was  but  too 
true  ;  he  found  confirmation  at  five  leao^ues  from 
Quebec,  and  had  only  time  to  take  to  the  woods. 
The  religious  whom  we  had  at  Cape  Tourment 
came  by  land.  These  two  religious,  with  the 
Sieur  de  Faucher,  the  commandant,  came  to  an- 
nounce at  Quebec  that  Cape  Tourment  had  been 
surprised    by    a    stratagem,    that    they     had    burnt 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  pp.  915,  977. 
f  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  gi6. 

X  Napagabiscou  and  a  comrade.     Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi. 
p.  170  ;  Sagard,  p.  917, 
19 


290  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

everything,  killed  the  cattle,  overturned  the  chapel, 
and  profaned  our  sacred  vessels.  The  Frenchmen 
had  escaped  to  the  woods.  Only  three  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  English,*  one  of  whom,  named 
Piver,f  soon  after  appeared  with  his  wife  and  niece 
before  Quebec,  accompanied  by  an  officer  of  the 
Sieur  Querk,J  admiral  of  the  English  fleet,  who, 
by  a  letter  to  Monsieur  de  Champlain,  summoned 
the  place  to  surrender.  §     But  the   brave  governor. 


*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  pp.  172-5  ;  Sagard,  pp.  917-21.  There 
seem  to  have  been  no  friars  at  Cap  Toiirmente.  "  Notice  Historique 
sur  la  paroisse  de  St.  Joachim,"  L'Abeille,  i.  No.  41. 

f  Nicholas  Pivert,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respected  settlers  at 
Quebec.     Laverdiere's  Champlain. 

X  David  Kirke,  son  of  Gervase,  of  Greenhill,  Derb3^shire,  England, 
and  Elizabeth  Goudon,  of  Dieppe,  was  born  in  1597.  After  the  restitu- 
tion of  Quebec  to  the  French  he  obtained  a  grant  of  Newfoundland, 
Nov.  13,  1637,  and  established  himself  at  Ferr)dand.  His  brothers, 
Lewis  and  Thomas,  who  had  been  with  him  in  America,  fought  for 
Charles  L  during  the  civil  war,  Thomas  djing  in  battle.  After  Charles's 
death  Sir  David  was  deprived  of  his  province  and  carried  to  England. 
He'was  finally  allowed  to  return,  a  ruined  man,  and  died  soon  after. 
Kirke's  "  First  English  Conquest  of  Canada." 

In  the  voyage  in  the  text  he  sailed  from  Gravesend  with  six  ships 
and  two  pinnaces,  April  5,  1629.     Laverdiere,  "Pieces  Justif.,"  p.  4. 

§  The  letter  is  given  in  Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  p.  175  ; 
Sagard,  "  Hist.,"  p.  921  ;  and  Champlain's  reply,  Champlain,  p.  177  ; 
Sagard,  p.  924. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  29I 

though  in  the  last  consternation,  remaining  ever 
firm  and  intrepid,  made  him  so  bold  an  answer  that 
the  Englishman,  helievinor  Quebec  in  a  better  state 
of  defence  than  it  was,  gave  it  up  and  sailed  for 
England. 

This   English  general  thought,   indeed,  that  he 
had  done   a  great    deal    in    having    taken,    among 
other  prisoners,  the  young  Huron  named  Louis  de 
Sante   Foi,  of  whom  we   have  spoken,  who    had 
been  baptized  two  years  before  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Rouen  ;    the  other   Frenchmen,  to  gain   credit, 
having  assured  the  general  that  he  was  son   of  the 
king  of  Canada.     The   Englishman  imagined  that 
this  prisoner  would  aid  him  to  conquer  the  whole 
country  the  next  year  ;  but  when    he    really  took 
Quebec  the  year  following  he  was  much  astonished 
to    find  that   his    father   was   a    miserable,     naked 
Huron   without  authority.     They  gave  him    back 
his  son  in  a   very  ordinary  dress,  and   the   enemy 
kept  the  splendid  attire  which  they  had  brought  for 
him,  and   which  till  then   he   had  enjoyed.*     This 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  920-1. 


292  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

reputation  of  being  a  king's  son  was  unfortunate  for 
this  poor  boy,  and  perhaps  the  occasion  of  his  eter- 
nal ruin  ;  for  he  resumed  his  savage  maxims,  and 
lost  the  ideas  of  Christianity  which  he  would  have 
preserved  among  the  French,  if  this  pretendedly 
ofreat  extraction  had  not  induced  the  Enorlish  to 
keep  him  when  they  put  the  Frenchmen  ashore  at 
Cape  Breton  in  1628.* 

On  the  alarm  given  by  the  coming  of  the  Eng- 
lish many  Montagnais  Indians,  as  our  trusty  adhe- 
rents, came  to  offer  their^services  to  our  Fathers, 
among  others  Napaga  Biscou,  who,  having  been  in- 
structed and  baptized  by  Father  Joseph  le  Caron, 
sought  only  an  opportunity  of  serving  his  benefac- 
tors in  defence  of  Christianity.  As  soon  as  he 
escaped  from  the.  English  he  came  to  tell  Father 
Joseph  that  if  these  heretics  did  at  Quebec  as  they 
had  done  at  Cape  Tourment,  all  would  be  lost  for 
the  rising  Indian  Church.  "  I  beg  thee,  then,"  said 
he,  "  to  give  me  two  or  three  of  thy  brethren  ;  they 
shall  not  fall  into   the   hands  of   the  English  ;  they 

*  See  ante,  p.  2S5. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  293 

will  confirm  me  in  the  Faith,  and  we  will  teach  the 
others  who  are  not  yet  instructed,  I  will  support 
them  ;  they  shall  not  fare  worse  than  myself,  and 
we  will  come  back  when  the  English  leave  the 
country."  Father  Joseph  found  his  proposal  con- 
formable to  his  own  zeal  and  that  of  his  religious ; 
he  appointed  himself  and  granted  the  same  favor 
to  two  others.  The  Indian  wished  Brother  Ger- 
vase  Mohier  to  be  of  the  party.  They  were  to 
winter  in  the  Algomquin  country.  They  set  out 
at  once  ''*'  for  Three  Rivers  and  met  many  perils  on 
the  way.  Their  canoes  having  broken  fifteen 
leagues  above  f  Three  Rivers,  they  were  obliged  to 
make  the  rest  of  the  journey  in  the  woods.  They 
were  well-nigh  being  carried  off  by  the  tide,  which 
rose  and  surprised  them.  At  last,  by  means  of  a 
canoe  which  they  found  by  chance,  they  reached 
Three  Rivers,  where  the  vilkiijes  formed  of  Mon- 
tagnais  and  Algomquins,  who  were  waiting  for 
their  harvest   to   ripen,    showed    them  the  natural 

*  July  19,  1628.     Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  p.  929.  f  Below. 


294  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

affection  which  they  still  have  for  our  religious. 
There  they  received  tidings  that  the  English  were 
well  out  of  the  river,  but  that  they  had  fought, 
beaten,  and  scattered  our  fleet, ''^  and  that  the 
governor  and  other  Frenchmen  begged  Father 
Joseph  to  return. 

Meanwhile  they  beheld  twenty  Fluron  canoes 
arrive  bearing  Father  Joseph  de  la  Roche  Dallion. 
The  grief  of  Napaga  Biscou  was  inexpressible 
when  they  had  to  part,  but  the  order  was  positive. 
This  poor  Christian,  become  the  apostle  of  his 
tribe,  did  not  fail  to  come  to  our  convent  in 
Quebec  in  the  month  of  March  following,  where 
he  came  every  year  to  obtain  new  strength  when- 
ever he  did  not  And  any  of  our  Fathers  at  Three 
Rivers.f 

I  shall  not  forget  here  the  stratagem  which  a 
Christian  Indian  used  to  get  out  of  the  hands  of 
the   English  and   show   his   fidelity  to  the   French 

*  De  Rocquemont's  fleet.  Laverdiere's  Champl.  (1632),  vi.  p.  1S4  ; 
Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  p.  939.  "  Mcmoire  des  Recollets," 
Margry,  i.  p.  10;  L'Abeille,  vii.  No.  29. 

f  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  933-4. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  295 

nation.  His  name  was  Peter  Anthony  Atetkoua- 
non,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  before,  baptized  in 
France,'^  Prince  de  Guimenee  being  sponsor.  He 
was  at  Tadoussac  when  the  EngHsh  appeared  ;  he 
was  taken  with  the  others,  carried  on  board,  and 
questioned  in  French  and  Latin.  He  pretended 
to  understand  nothing.  Captain  Michel,  a  French 
deserter,  knew  this  Indian  to  be  versed  in  these 
two  hmguages,  and  told  the  admiral,  who  kept  him 
to  act  as  interpreter  and  to  bring  his  nation  down 
to  trade.  Peter  Anthony  could  no  longer  conceal 
that  he  knew  the  languages  and  that  he  was  a 
Christian,  but  he  hit  on  an  expedient  :  feigning  to 
join  the  English,  he  told  the  admiral  that  as  he 
had  measures  to  take  with  the  French  and  espe- 
cially with  the  Recollect  Fathers,  to  whom  he  was 
indebted  for  baptism  and  all  he  knew,  he  conjured 
the  admiral  to  spare  him  on  this  point  and  not 
carry  him  to  Quebec  ;  that  he  could  serve  him  more 
usefully  if  he  let  him  go  to  Three  Rivers  with  two 
canoes  full  of  provisions  and   goods,  and   that    he 

*  Other  forms  of  his  name  are  given,  ante,  p.  235. 


296  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

would  bring  many  Indians  to  trade.  They  relied 
on  his  word,  gave  him  all  he  asked ;  but  Peter 
Anthony,  once  out  of  the  hands  of  the  English, 
made  straight  for  He  rouge,  passed  to  the  other 
side  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  River  Loup,  and  after 
that  the  admiral  heard  no  more  of  him.'"' 

It  was  a  hard  winter  at  Quebec  from  their  want 
of  all  things  and  the  loss  of  the  ships  which  had 
been  taken  by  the  English,  so  that  they  had  to 
deal  out  what  little  provisions  they  possessed. 
Our  religious  might  have  claimed  a  share,  but 
they  contented  themselves  with  Indian  corn  and 
the  vegetables  they  had  planted.  Dame  Hebert 
aided  them  with  two  barrels  of  peas.  They  also 
lived  on  roots,  and  even  on  acorns,  overjoyed  to 
hnd  some  eels.  Providence  multiplied  these  arti- 
cles, so  that  they  afforded  enough  for  three  semina- 
rians whom  they  kept  and  many  other  needy  per- 
son s.f 

It  happened  even  that    Mahican-Aticouch's  son, 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  936-8. 

f  See  Laverdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  pp.  1S6-190  ;  Sagard,  "  His- 
toire," p.  941. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  297 

of  whom  we  hav^e  spoken,  i^ave  us  his  son  on  con- 
dition that  he  would  give  him  up  entirely  to  Father 
Joseph  to  instruct,  and  even  send  to  France,  as  was 
done.  The  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  who  were 
then  lodged  in  their  house,  employed  themselves 
to   relieve  the   French/^ 

Early  in  the  spring  the  Sieur  de  Champlain,  see- 
ing the  necessity  in  which  they  had  been  during 
the  winter,  begged  Father  Joseph  to  grant  him  a 
part  of  our  land  near  the  Pointe  aux  Lievres ; 
four  other  persons  did  the  same.  They  were 
roughly  cleared  and  planted  with  wheat,  peas, 
and  Indian  corn. 

The  Sieur  de  Champlain  had  sent  towards  Gas- 
pee  to  see  whether  they  could  not  find  a  French 
ship.  They  got  no  news  of  any  by  the  return  of 
his  boat  ;  but  although  the  Gaspesians  offered  to 
support  twenty  families,  their  wives  and  children, 
the  Algomquins  and  Montagnais  offered  still 
greater  aid,  a  bark  was  prepared  to  go  to  France. 
The    Sieur  du    BouUe,   Monsieur   de   Champlain's 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  942-3. 


298  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

brother-in-law,  took  the  command,  havincr  the 
Sieur  des  Dames,  agent  of  the  Company,  as  heu- 
tenant. 

As  they  approached  Gaspee,  in  the  great  bay  of 
St.  Lawrence,  they  fortunately  met  a  French  ship 
commanded  by  the  Sieur  Emeric  de  Caen,  which 
brought  them  rehef  and  announced  that  the  king 
had  sent  the  Sieur  de  Razilly  to  fight  the  English 
and  save  the  country.  The  bark  was  loaded,  and 
the  Sieur  de  Boulle  was  retracing  his  course  to 
Quebec  when  he  unfortunately  fell  in  with  an  Eng- 
lish vessel,  which  made  them  all  prisoners.* 

Meanwhile  the  Hurons  arrived  at  Quebec  with 
twenty  canoes.  A  quantity  of  Indian  corn  was 
bought  of  them,  some  of  which  supported  us  and 
the  Jesuit  Fathers  till  the  coming  of  the  English, 
which  was  not  delayed.f 

Their  ileet  surprised  us,  having  appeared  in  the 
"morning  of  the  19th  of  July,  1629,  opposite  Que- 
bec, at  the  point  of  Isle  Orleans.      It  was  composed 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoirc,"  pp.  983-4. 

f  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  vi.  p.  231-5. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  299 

of  three  ships,  followed  soon  by  six  others  which 
they  had  left  at  Tadoussac.  The  Jesuit  and  Re- 
collect missionaries  were  ordered  to  retire  with  the 
other  settlers  into  the  fort,  where  there  was  powder 
for  only  two  or  three  volleys  of  cannon  and  eight 
or  nine  hundred  rounds  of  musketry, 

Sieur  Querc,  general  of  the  English  fleet,  sent 
an  English  gentleman  to  the  Sieur  de  Champlain 
to  summon  the  place,  with  a  very  civil  letter.  The 
wretched  state  of  the  country,  which  had  neither 
provisions  nor  ammunition  (having  received  no 
supplies  from  France  for  two  years),  made  him  re- 
turn a  milder  answer  than  the  last. 

The  Sieur  de  Champlain  deputed  Father  Joseph 
to  go  on  board  the  flagship  to  negotiate  for  favor- 
able conditions,  and  especially  to  obtain  a  delay. 
He  asked  a  fortnight.  The  general,  informed  by 
the  prisoners  on  the  sloop  of  the  distress  in  which 
Quebec  was,  refused  to  hear  of  it.  The  Father 
then  asked  at  least  a  week.  The  council  of  the 
fleet  assembled  to  consider,  but  his  only  reply  was 
that  the   English  would  wait  only  till  evening  of 


300  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

that  day.  He  asked  the  Father  to  go  and  tell 
Monsieur  de  Champlain,  and  that  besides  he  had 
only  to  draw  articles  of  capitulation,  which  he 
would  execute  faithfully.  He  advised  Father  Jo- 
seph to  retire  with  our  Fathers  to  the  convent, 
promising  to  do  them  no  injury  in  any  event. 

Two  French  prisoners,  named  Baillif,  formerly 
agent,  and  Pierre  de  la  Ray,  a  wheelwright,  had  pre- 
judiced the  captain  against  the  Jesuits,  persuading 
him  that  he  would  fmd  much  booty  at  their  place. 
Accordingly,  the  captain,  in  great  fury,  declared  to 
Father  Joseph  that  had  the  wind  been  more  favor- 
able he  would  have  begun  by  the  house  of  those 
leathers.  Father  Joseph  did  not  fail  to  inform 
them  confidentially  of  the  unjust  fury  of  those 
heretics,  in  order  to  take  their  precaution  in  the 
articles  about  to  be  made. 

Father  Joseph  having  received  this  answer,  the 
captain  took  him  all  over  his  ship  and  showed  him 
his  armament  and  force.  He  was  then  put  ashore 
and  made  his  report  to   Monsieur  de  Champlain. 

There  was  a  difference  of  opinion.      Father  Jo- 


OF    THE    FAITH.  301 

seph,  who  had  not  seen  among  the  enemy  a  great 
force  in  men,  their  regular  troops  not  exceeding 
two  hundred  men  at  most,  badly  organized,  who 
had  not  even  carried  arms,  and  besides  relying 
much  on  the  courage  shown  by  the  settlers,  would 
have  inclined,  as  would  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  to  risk  a 
siege  ;  but  at  last  Monsieur  Champlain's  opinion 
prevailed.  The  articles  of  capitulation  were 
drawn  up  and  sent  on  board  the  flagship,  and,  all 
these  things  being  arranged,  they  asked  the  Eng- 
lish to  orive  them  time  till  next  mornino-/^" 

At  the  same  time  the  Indians  friendly  to  the 
French,  and  especially  Chaumin,  already  mention- 
ed, strongly  urged  Father  Joseph,  the  Superior,  and 
our  Fathers  to  grant  him  two  or  three  of  our  mis- 
sionaries to  retire  into  the  woods  and  thence  into 
their  country;  for  although  he  was  not  yet  grounded 
in  the  principles  of  religion,  he  nevertheless  was 
greatly  attached  to  these  poor   Fathers.     The  pro- 


*La-v'erdiere's  Champlain  (1632),  vi.  pp.  237-244  ;  Sagard,  "  Histoire 
du  Canada,"  pp.  986-997.  "  The  Depositions  of  Captain  Dauid  Kyrcke," 
in  L'Abeille,  x.  No.  12. 


302  FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 

ject  was  taken  into  consideration  ;  on  one  side  it 
was  thought  that  the  EngHsh  would  not  long  be 
possessors  of  tiie  country  ;  that  the  king,  by  treaty 
or  otherwise,  would  sooner  or  later  recover  it  ;  that 
while  waiting  the  good  work  begun  among  the 
Indians  might  be  constantly  advanced,  as  they  be- 
sides ofifered  to  support  our  missionaries ;  and  that, 
finally,  when  the  country  returned  to  the  French 
sway  we  should  be  in  Canada,  ready  to  continue 
our  evangelical  labors  and  support  our  establish- 
ments everywhere.  They  were  more  inclined  to 
it  as  the  English  general  had  made  great  show 
and  protestation  of  friendship  to  Father  Joseph. 
Finally  two  of  our  Fathers  offered  to  sacrifice  them- 
selves to  this  project.  Father  Joseph  himself  was 
not  averse  to  it.  Yet  there  was  no  time  to  lose ; 
they  must  needs  start  and  escape  that  very  day,  as 
some  French  did,  in  canoes  with  the  Indians. 

It  is  trying  for  apostolic  men  to  be  stopped  in 
their  most  useful,  reasonable,  and  holy  projects  by 
force.  The  Council  of  Quebec  and  other  officers 
opposed  it,  and  it  was  decided   for   several   purely 


OF    THE    FAITH.  303 

political  and  human  reasons,  either  from  respect  to 
the  English,  who  had  knowledge  of  it,  or  the  re- 
proaches which  they  pretended  to  fear  in  France, 
or  from  distrust  in  God's  providence  over  our  Fa- 
thers, or  because  they  did  not  believe  that  the 
French  would  return  to  Canada.  The  Fathers 
had  to  yield,  and  this  was  the  only  ground  of  com- 
plaint at  court,  and  especially  in  the  province, 
against  Father  Joseph,  the  Superior,  that  he  had 
not  had  firmness  enough  to  give  full  effect  to  his 
zeal ;  for,  in  fact,  it  would  have  happened  that  these 
Indian  nations  which  had  put  all  their  confidence 
in  the  Recollects  would  be  now  better  disposed 
than  they  seem  to  Christianity. 

Father  Joseph  cleared  himself  as  well  as  he  could 
by  throwing  the  responsibility  on  the  Quebec 
Council,  as  appears  by  his  answers  to  the  defini- 
tory  of  the  province  after  his  return,  when  giving 
an  account  of  the  mission. 

The  next  day,  July  20,  1629,  the  Sieur  de  Cham- 
plain  having  gone  on  board,  the  articles  of  capitu- 
lation   were    signed    on    both    sides ;    the    English 


304  FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 

landed  and  were  put  in  possession  of  the  country 
by  the  Sieur  de  Champlain. 

I  say  nothing  of  the  articles  of  capitulation, 
which  do  not  enter  into  my  plan.  The  Sieur  de 
Champlain  saved  not  only  his  family  and  all  his 
property,  but  even  gained  some  advantage.  The 
French  settlers  were  to  have  each  twenty  crowns, 
the  rest  to  be  confiscated  to  the  conquerors.  Great 
complaints  were  made  of  this,  some  then  proving  to 
be  very  rich.  Those  who  chose  to  remain  in  the 
country  obtained  some  advantage,  especially  the 
family  of  Monsieur  Hebert.  As  to  the  Recollects, 
the  English  did  not  forget  their  promise  to  Father 
Joseph  not  to  permit  them  to  be  harmed.  Yet, 
for  all  the  care  the  captains  took,  they  could  not 
prevent  one  of  their  soldiers  stealing  a  chalice 
from  us  ;  but  those  gentlemen  showed  so  much  re- 
gret that  they  swore  that  the  culprit  should  under- 
go an  exemplary  punishment  if  they  caught  him. 

The  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  received  a  very  dif- 
ferent treatment.  Their  house  was  pillaged,  and 
all  found  there  became  the  booty  of  the  soldiers  ; 


OF    THE    FAITH.  305 

they  were  even  forced  to  embark  the  next  day  with 
the  Sieur  de  Champlain  and  all  the  French,  who 
sailed  for  Tadoussac ;  but  Sieurs  Louis  and  Tho- 
mas Querc,  one  admiral,  the  other  vice-admiral  of 
the  British  fleet,  permitted  our  Fathers  to  remain 
at  Quebec.  They  even  declared  openly  that  they 
would  willingly  leave  them  in  Canada,  if  they  had 
not  had  positive  orders  from  the  King  of  England 
to  carry  them  to  France.  That  they  might  never- 
theless act  familiarly  with  them,  with  the  same 
liberty  they  had  before  the  capture  of  Quebec ; 
that  they  would  cheerfully  receive  their  visits, 
and,  far  from  interdicting  the  exercise  of  our  re- 
ligion, they  begged  them  to  use  no  wine  in  cele- 
brating Mass  but  what  they  cheerfully  offered.* 

Our  Fathers  lived  thus  in  peace  for  six  weeks 
after  the  capture  of  Quebec,  and  received  much 
civility  from  the  English  till  September  9,  i629,f 
when  they  embarked  with  the  Sieur  de  Pont- 
Grave,  who  had  been  detained   at  Quebec  by  ill- 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire,"  pp.  1000-2  ;  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  vi.  p.  248. 
f  July  24.     Laverdiere's  Champ.,  vi.  p.  251. 


3o6  FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 

ness,  to  go  and  join  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  the  Sieur 
de  Champlain,  and  all  the  French  of  the  colony, 
who  had  been  sent  to  Tadoussac  the  day  after  the 
capture  of  Quebec.  One  may  judge  of  the  grief 
of  the  missionaries  of  the  two  institutes  at  being 
thus  obliged  to  abandon  a  mission  they  so  tenderly 
loved.  In  the  hope  that  our  Fathers  entertained  of 
returning  soon  they  hid  a  part  of  their  utensils  in 
different  places,  and  enclosed  the  principal  church 
vestments  in  a  leather  box,  before  leaving  Quebec 
for  Tadoussac.  The  fleet  set  sail  for  England 
on  the  14th  September,  and  arrived  on  the  i8th 
of  October  at  Plimout,  where  our  religious  stayed 
five  or  six  days,  after  which  they  were  taken  with 
some  Frenchmen  to  London ;  from  London  to 
Calais  on  the  29th  of  October,  in  the  same  year, 
1629,  and  then  arrived  safely  at  our  convent  in 
Paris.  * 

Thus  these    first  apostles  of  New    France  were 
obliged    to    abandon    this    rising    church    with    as 

*Sagard,  p.  1004;   "  Memoire  des   Recollects,"   Margry,  i.  p.  10; 
Abeille,  vii.  No.  25,  etc. 


OF    THE    FAITH.  307 

much  grief  and  regret  as  they  had  shown  eagerness 
and  zeal  to  create  there  the  first  and  true  spirit  of 
Christianity.  The  mere  thought  that  they  left 
helpless  the  few  Indian  Christians  whom  they  had 
begotten  in  Christ  by  the  preaching  of  his  holy 
Gospel,  made  them  feel  keenly  the  sense  of  that 
great  misery  of  which  the  apostle  feared  the  de- 
plorable results  when  they  considered  that  the 
English  had  already  entered  like  ravishing  wolves 
into  this  little  flock  of  the  faithful,  which  was  all 
the  fruit  of  their  apostolic  labors,  and  that  they 
would  not  except  any  Indian  from  the  resolution 
they  had  taken  to  draw  them  into  their  errors. 
They  saw  too  affecting  a  proof  already  in  the  case 
of  the  Indian  girls,  whom  we  have  already  men- 
tioned. Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity,  whom  Monsieur 
de  Champlain  earnestly  desired  to  carry  to  France 
with  him  to  take  care  of  their  education.  The 
English  would  not  let  them  embark,  in  spite  of 
the  entreaties  of  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  of 
Monsieur  de  Champlain,  and  our  Fathers,  and 
the  tears  which  those  good  girls   shed    abundant- 


3o8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

ly  to  obtain  of  the  English  permission  to  go 
to  France  in  order  to  preserve  the  sanctity  of 
Christianity  which  they  had  received  from  our  first 
missionaries/'  They  were  obhged  to  return  from 
Tadoussac  to  Quebec  and  retire  to  Madam  He- 
bert's,  who  took  care  of  them,  in  order  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  persecution  of  these  heretics, 
who  expected  only  to  establish  in  New  France  a 
Babylon  of  error  and  confusion  by  the  exercise  of 
a  religion  as  detestable  in  its  followers  as  it  is 
impious  and  sacrilegious  in  its  principles. 

But,  after  all,  as  the  designs  of  the  wicked  break 
and  STO  to  wreck  ag^ainst  the  immutable  decrees 
of  Divine  Providence,  which  plays  as  it  likes  with 
their  strongest  resolutions,  it  pleased  our  Lord  to 
take  pity  on  his  people.  He  remembered  his  mercy, 
and,  after  having  heard  the  tears,  prayers,  and  vows 
of  these  poor  Israelites,  who  groaned  under  the 
heavy  hand  of  these  cruel  Pharaohs,  he  raised  up 
another  Moses  in  the  royal  person  of  Louis 
the  Just  to  deliver  his  people    from  the    persecu- 

•*  Laverdiere's  Champlain,  vi.  p.  242  ;  Sagard,  "Histoire,"  p.  1003. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  309 

tion  of  the  English ;  and  this  monarch,  as  illustrious 
for  his  piety  as  for  the  happy  success  of  his  victo- 
rious arms,  knowing  well  that,  according  to  the 
judicious  reflection  of  that  famous  and  celebrated 
queen  in  sacred  history,  God  had  raised  him  to 
the  throne  and  allowed  him  to  bear  the  sceptre 
and  purple,  the  glorious  title  of  eldest  son  of 
the  Church,  only  for  the  salvation  of  his  peo- 
ple, compelled  the  English  to  leave  New  France, 
which  was  no  sooner  for  the  second  time  under 
the  sway  of  its  first  master'  and  monarch  than 
that  pious  prince  restored  there  the  empire  of 
Christ,  as  well  as  his  own  royal  power  and  au- 
thority, in  the  manner  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel 
of  this  history. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    KING    RESUMES     POSSESSION      OF     CANADA THE 

REVEREND  JESUIT  FATHERS  RETURN UNAVAIL- 
ING EFFORTS  OF  THE  RECOLLECTS  TO  RESTORE 
THEIR  FORMER  MISSION ARRIVAL  OF  THE  JESU- 
ITS   AT    QUEBEC. 

/^^ANADA  groaned  under  the  tyranny  of  its 
^"^  new  masters,  and  the  CathoHc  relio"ion,  estab- 
lished  for  fourteen  years  by  the  zeal  and  toil  of  the 
rehofious  of  St.  Francis,  would  soon  be  darkened 
and  insensibly  extinguished  in  the  hands  of  the 
English  by  the  errors  of  the  new  sects,  had  not 
God  cast  an  eye  of  mercy  on  this  new  church  and 
been  touched  by  the  groans,  tears,  prayers,  and  sac- 
rifices of  so  many  holy  missionaries,  settlers  full  of 
piety,  and  the  little  flock  of  Indian  neophytes  ;  and, 
finally,  if  he  had  not  inspired  the  resolution  and 
conducted  the  means  of  delivering  his  people  from 
their  double  captivity. 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.    31 1 

The  English  were  three  years  in  possession  of 
this  new  world,  and  although  they  neglected  no- 
thing to  gain  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  and 
draw  them  to  their  interests,  yet  the  presents,  flat- 
teries, advances,  projects,  and  treaties  of  alliance 
which  they  proposed  had  not  yet  weakened  the 
strong  liking  they  had  conceived  for  the  French 
and  the  attachment  felt  by  almost  all,  except  the 
Iroquois,  who  have  never  had  any  for  any  nation. 
We  learned  this  in  France  by  secret  correspond- 
ence which  we  had  kept  in  the  country  ;  and  this, 
joined  to  the  pressing  entreaties  made  by  the  mis- 
sionaries at  court,  and  the  remonstrances  of  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Company,  contributed  not  a 
little  to  bring  it  under  deliberation  whether  it 
was  expedient  to  resume  the  country  and  whether 
it  was  worth  while  to  enter  into  negotiations  with 
the  English  about  the  matter.  The  Ministry  were 
somewhat  divided  in  opinion  on  the  matter,  and 
perhaps  even  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  nation 
would  not  have  prevailed  had  not  the  matter 
been    thoroughly    examined.       Those    best    versed 


312  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

declared  that  from  the  time  of  Francis  I.  France 
had  made  similar  efforts  on  the  coast  of  Ame- 
rica where  the  two  Floridas  and  Virginia  are 
now,  and  that  they  had  failed ;  that  the  same 
designs  had  been  resumed  subsequently,  and 
new  establishments  made  unsuccessfully  on  the 
coast  near  Canada.  Moreover,  as  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Company  had  affected  to  conceal  the 
gains  and  profits  of  the  Canada  trade,  no  one 
felt  convinced  of  the  benefit  it  would  be  to  the 
kingdom.  As  regards  religion,  it  was  known,  by 
the  accounts  of  the  Recollects  who  had  visited  and 
examined  the  whole  country,  that  very  moderate 
fruit  could  be  expected,  these  savages  showing  only 
opposition  to  the  faith  ;  that  to  make  these  new 
countries  valuable  numerous  colonies  must  be  sent, 
which  would,  perhaps,  drain  France  of  men,  as 
Spain  had  been  greatly  weakened  by  her  colonies 
in  Mexico,  Peru,  and  other  Eastern  and  Western 
enterprises  ;  that  as  Europeans  were  already  begin- 
ning to  form  considerable  settlements  on  all  the 
sea-coast  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  Rio  del  Spiritu 


OF  THE  FAITH.  3^3 

Sancto,  to  the  strait  where  Florida,  Virginia,  New 
York,  and  New  England  are  now,  it  would  require 
of  us  great  outlays  to  maintain  our  ground  against 
these  nations,  more  skilful  than  we  in  settling 
new  countries;  that  the  Indians,  having  no  inclina- 
tion to  submit  to  laws,  still  less  to  politeness,  could 
never  be  subjected  to  our  manners  and  customs 
nor  brought  over  to  our  interests. 

The  most  enlightened,  on  the  contrary,  alleged 
that  since  the  discovery  of  the  country  in  the  last 
century  France  had  become  mistress  of  the  great 
fisheries  of  green  and  dry  fish,  in  which  consider- 
able trade  was  carried  on  in  warm  countries,  which 
then  employed  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred  ves- 
sels. That  the  great  bank  and  other  neighboring 
banks,  the  Islands  of  New  Foundland,  Cape  Bre- 
ton, Isle  Percee  and  the  coasts  of  Acadia,  being 
the  only  places  fit  for  abundant  fisheries,  if  we  ex- 
cept those  of  the  North,  belonged  to  France  as 
first  occupant ;  and  that  these  fisheries  were  inex- 
haustible mines  for  the  kingdom,  which  no  one 
could  dispute  with  us  if  we  maintained  the  colony. 


314  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

That  many  Basque  and  other  French  ships  went 
there  to  take  porpoises,  whales,  and  seals,  from 
which  they  made  a  prodigious  number  of  barrels  of 
oil,  necessary  in  our  manufactures  and  domestic 
use,  and  which  were  even  exported  to  foreign 
countries.  It  was  known  that  by  this  fishing 
trade  alone  which  our  European  neighbors  carried 
on  off  our  Canada  coasts  they  had  already  made 
great  establishments  in  America  ;  that  as  yet  we 
had  had  neither  time  nor  means  to  explore  the 
country  to  find  mines  ;  that  nevertheless  tin,  lead, 
copper,  and  iron  had  been  found  in  many  parts, 
and  more  would  doubtless  be  discovered  in  time, 
as  the  country  was  w^ell  suited  to  them,  and  the 
forests  of  great  help  in  making  them  available. 
That  even  at  Quebec  and  elsewdiere  the  stone 
seemed  a  kind  of  spurious  marble  ;  there  were  in 
several  places  abundant  mines  of  coal  fit  for  forges, 
and  a  certain  plaster  which  is  a  kind  of  alabaster. 
That  the  further  you  advanced  into  the  country 
you  found  beautiful  forests  full  of  gummy  trees  for 
tar  for  ships,  tall  trees  for  masts,  pines,   firs,   cedars. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  315 

maple,  proper  for  all  kinds  of  work,  and  especially 
for  ship-building.  As  France,  under  the  ministry 
of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  Superintendent  of  the  Seas, 
Commerce,  and  Navigation  of  the  kingdom,  was 
then  preparing  great  naval  armaments,  and  the 
king  was  laying  the  foundation  of  that  great  power 
the  kingdom  now  possesses  on  the  ocean  and  the 
Mediterranean,  giving  the  law  to  all  Europe,  they 
considered  well  the  necessity  in  which  they  were  of 
seamen  for  the  naval  forces,  and  that  they  could 
not  get  them  unless  sailors  found  employment  at 
all  times  to  support  their  families,  and  unless  they 
were  formed  to  the  sea  by  commerce  and  naviga- 
tion Westward,  as  our  Eastern  trade  did  not  com- 
prise a  large  number  of  vessels.  That  the  fur  trade 
already  began  to  produce  great  profits  in  moose, 
bear,  beaver,  lynx,  fox,  otter,  marten,  wildcat 
and  other  skins,  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company 
drawing  thence  every  year  at  least  one  hundred 
thousand  crowns  in  beaver-skins  alone,  which 
would  increase  greatly  as  the  trade  extended,  not 
including  the   gain   of  individuals.     In   fact,   I  will 


3l6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

tell  you  that  on  my  return  to  France  in  1687  this 
sum  had  more  than  trebled  in  furs  with  which 
our  ships  were  loaded  ;  for  though  they  now  go 
further  to  seek  them,  it  is  a  trade  which  will 
never  run  dry,  as  those  know  who  have  explored 
furthest. 

They  considered  that  the  great  characteristic 
of  Frenchmen  was  not  to  stay  in  the  king- 
dom— there  were  few  countries  in  Europe  where 
they  were  not  scattered,  and  even  settled ;  that 
Canada  had  vast  provinces  where  colonies  might 
be  formed,  subject  to  the  king,  without  greatly 
affecting  the  kingdom ;  that,  the  Indians  be- 
coming civilized  and  allied  to  us,  the  country 
would  soon  be  peopled  and  strengthened  at  very 
moderate  expense ;  that,  finally,  as  there  were 
on  our  coasts  a  quantity  of  produce,  manufac- 
tures, and  merchandise  of  every  kind  which 
could  not  by  a  great  deal  be  all  sold  in  the 
kingdom,  commerce  would  be  the  more  ad- 
vanced by  carrying  them  to  Canada,  where 
they   could  be  readily   disposed   of 


OF  THE  FAITH.  317 

By  this  means  New  France  derived  benefit 
from  its  own  misfortune,  for  otherwise  they  never, 
perhaps,  would  have  understood  how  important 
that  country  is  to  our  well-being,  if  the  English 
had  not  taken  it  from  us.  In  this  we  must  ac- 
knowledge and  admire  God's  providence  in  not 
wishing  all  countries  to  be  equally  furnished  with 
all  things,  in  order  to  establish  society,  inter- 
course, and  commerce  between  different  nations, 
so  as  thus  to  spread  over  all  the  world  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  and  make  all  nations  on 
earth  share   in    the  merit   of  redemption. 

It  was,  too,  the  chief  motive  of  Louis  XIII., 
who,  penetrated  with  sentiments  of  faith,  piety, 
and  fervor  which  animated  all  his  conduct, 
thought  little  of  having  gained  so  many  battles, 
suppressed  the  rebellion  of  a  great  part  of  his 
subjects,  and  triumphed  everywhere  over  the  for- 
eign enemies  of  the  crown,  if  he  did  not  also 
extend  the  kingdom  of  the  Son  of  God  over 
infidelity  and  barbarism,  and  subject  new  nations 
to   his  empire.     This  was,  then,  the  great  motive 


3l8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

of  Louis  the  Just,  and  of  that  great  genius 
who  pfoverned  under  his  orders — I  mean  Car- 
dinal  RicheHeu.* 

For  this  purpose  negotiations  with  England 
were  entered  into  to  induce  them  to  restore  a 
country  unjustly  usurped  at  a  time  when  the  two 
countries  were  at  peace.  His  Majesty  wrote  to 
the  King  of  England.  All  these  negotiations 
were  long,  and  England,  knowing  how  advanta- 
geous these  vast  countries  could  be  to  her,  put 
us  off  with  fair  words  from  1630  to  1632  ;  but 
at  last  the  cardinal,  who  knew  by  four  years' 
experience    the    injury    done    to     France     by  the 

*  There  is  no  documentary  evidence  of  any  such  discussion  in 
the  French  council.  Quebec  was  taken  July  20,  1629.  In  Novem- 
ber Cardinal  Richelieu  instructed  the  French  ambassador  extraor- 
dinary in  London  to  demand  the  restoration  of  Canada,  which  had 
been  seized  after  the  treaty  of  Suze,  April  24,  1629.  On  December  3 
the  English  declared  that  they  could  not  then  restore  Canada,  and 
France,  in  consequence,  declined  to  restore  ships  captured  after  the 
treaty  of  peace.  In  April,  1630,  the  English  king  promised  to  restore 
Quebec,  and  the  new  French  ambassador  had  already  been  instruct- 
ed to  press  the  point.  This  following  up  of  the  subject  is  inconsis- 
tent with  the  idea  of  any  such  discussion  as  Le  Clercq  supposes.  See 
the  point  examined  by  Faillon,  "  Histoire  de  le  Colonie  Franjaise," 
i.  p.  256-7. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  319 

loss  of  this  trade,  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  six  men- 
of-war,  with  four  tenders,  to  take  forcible  posses- 
sion of  a  country  which  in  all  justice  belonged 
to  us.  The  command  was  given  to  the  Cheva- 
lier de  Razilly,  as  general  of  the  armament. 
When  information  of  this  step  reached  London, 
it  obliged  the  King  of  England  to  speak  and 
consent  to  the  restitution  of  New  France.  His 
Most  Christian  Majesty  revoked  the  orders  given 
to  the  Chevalier  de  Razilly  ;  the  treaty  was 
signed  between  the  two  crowns,  fixing  the  lim- 
its on  the  New  England  side,  where  we  yield- 
ed some  extent  of  country  between  Port  Roy- 
al and  Baston,  which  belonged  to  France  as 
first    occupant."" 

While  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  were  act- 
ing in  concert  with  us  for  the  good  of  the 
country,  we  learned  that  they  had  all  to  do, 
in   erecting  the    Company  which    was  forming,  in 

*  Canada  was  restored  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain-en-Laye, 
March  2g,  1632.  "  Memoires  des  Commissaires,"  iii.  p.  5.  Champlain 
mentions  Commander  Razilly's  preparations,  Laverdifere,  vi.  p.  342. 
"  Pieces  Justificatives,"  pp.  25-6. 


320  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  choice    and    nomination    of    those    who   were 
to     compose     it.     Our    natural    uprightness  made 
us  really   believe  that  things  would    only  go  bet- 
ter  both    for   the    settlement   of    the   country  and 
for   our  own  benefit,  relying   on    the  probity  and 
virtue  of  those   reverend  Fathers   and  their  grati- 
tude, of  which   they  frequently   made   us  avowals 
and  protestations.     Their  return  was  ordered  and 
decreed    in    full    form,  the    commercial  Company 
erected     by     letters-patent,    and    a    new     contract 
which  gave    them  the   country   as    lords    and   pro- 
prietors.    Monsieur  de  Lauzon  was  appointed  su- 
perintendent and  president.     A  kind  of  Supreme 
Council  was  established  at   Quebec,  composed  of 
the    governor,   the    Superior   of    the    Jesuits,   and 
the   syndic   of  the  country.     Such   were   the   pro- 
ject   and    regulation    which    they    formed,    to    be 
afterwards  observed    in  all    circumstances  as  soon 
as  they  entered  into  possession  of  Canada.* 

*  There  is  strange  confusion  here.  No  new  Company  was  formed 
at  this  time.  The  Company  of  One  Hundred  established  April  29, 
1627,  before  Kirk  took  Quebec,  still  existed.  "  Memoires  des  Com- 
missaires,"  ii.  p.  462  ;  Mercure  Francois,  xiv.  ii.  p.  232.     The  appoint- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  32 1 

We  prepared  for  our  return  in  the  year  1631,  and 
did  not  anticipate  the  least  difficulty  in  the  matter, 
as  we  had  our  establishments  formed,  patents  from 
Rome  and  France  in  good  form  ;  a  possession  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  with  untiring  labors  which 
we  had  undergone,  rendered  our  right  incontest- 
able. In  fact,  his  Majesty  gave  consent.  The 
cardinal  chose  to  favor  our  preparations  by  his  lib- 
erality, as  did  the  Duchess  d'Aiguillon.  The  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Company  amused  us  with  fair  words, 
which  we  took  to  be  sincere  and  in  good  faith. 
The  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  our  old  associates  and 
coadjutors,  also  made  us  every  civil  advance.  The 
Superiors  of  the  two  Institutes  seemed  to  act  with 
equal  sincerity  and  understanding.  Monsieur  de 
Champlain  took  our  interests  to  heart,  but  durst 
not  appear ;  he  was  even  the  first  to  advise  us  of 

ment  of  de  Lauson  was  made  at  the  very  outset,  May  7,  1627. 
"  Memoires,"  etc.,  p.  478.  The  Jesuits  are  not  mentioned  in  any  docu- 
ment cited  in  the  "  Memoires."  There  is  no  order  in  regard  to  the  erec- 
tion of  a  Supreme  Council  at  this  time.  It  was  not  till  1647  that 
a  kind  of  Council  was  established,  of  which  ^he  Superior  of  the 
Jesuits,  until  the  appointment  of  a  bishop,  was  a  member.  "  Jesuit 
Journal,"  p.  93  ;  Ferland,  "  Cours  d'Histoire,"  i.  p.  356. 
21 


322  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  real  intentions  of  those  who  pretended  to  serve 
us,  but  in  fact  thwarted  us. 

An  incident  which  befell  us  gave  our  Fathers 
some  suspicion.  The  gentlemen  of  the  Com- 
pany informed  us  that  from  them  we  could  expect 
nothing  but  permission  to  go  to  Canada,  and  that 
they  could  not  continue  to  pay  the  salaries  of  six 
hundred  livres  nor  grant  free  passage,  being  bound 
to  the  Jesuit  Fathers  by  a  regular  contract,  by 
which  they  promised  to  support  three  of  their  Fa- 
thers in  each  settlement.  * 

Our  six  places  belonged  to  us  by  an  incontest- 
able right,  as  this  Company,  though  augmented  in 
the  number  of  associates,  was  still  the  same  as  the 
old,  succeeding  to  its  obligations  and  charges,  as 
well  as  to  its  rights  and  privileges,  by  virtue  of  the 
treaty  made  with  the  king,  and  consequently  they 
were  bound  to  support  six  Recollects  by  an  agree- 
ment made  with  the  province. 


*  The  edict  establishing  the  Compaii)'  of  One  Hundred  required 
them  to  maintain  three  priests  in  each  settlement,  but  did  not  specify 
whether  regular  or  secular. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  323 

Nevertheless,  this  was  not  an  obstacle  for  our 
Fathers,  accustomed  to  live  on  Providence  and  be 
content  with  little.  They  agreed  to  subsist,  without 
any  aid  from  these  gentlemen,  on  the  alms  from 
France,  for  which  their  syndic.  President  Loysel, 
and  other  men  of  rank  became  security  before  a 
notary  in  an  act  presented  to  the  Company  to 
give  them  every  security.  But  the  sequel  showed 
that  this  was  only  a  stratagem  devised  by  Monsieur 
de  Lauzon,  who  soon  after  sent  us  a  counter-order 
to  prevent  our  departure. 

The  missions  of  New  France  are  very  different 
from  many  others.  There  is  nothing  there  to  please 
nature ;  nothing  that  does  not  contradict  the  in- 
clination of  the  senses — insurmountable  fatigues, 
sterile  and  thankless  toil,  little  success  in  the  con- 
version of  souls,  obstacles  perfectly  odious ;  and  yet 
all  who  serve  there  with  true  zeal  avow  that  there 
is  a  secret  charm  which  binds  them  to  the  task,  so 
that  if  obedience  or  the  necessity  of  circumstances 
withdraw  them  they  have  to  do  violence  to  their 
own  feelings. 


324  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

This  invisible  charm  has  always  seemed  to  me  a 
happy  augury  for  Canada,  in  the  thought  that  God 
will  not  abandon  it  for  ever,  but  supports  our  hopes 
of  seeing  Christianity  one  day  flourish  in  that  bar- 
barism by  the  continuation  of  that  secret  vocation 
and  powerful  attraction  which  he  imprints  on  the 
heart  of  missionaries. 

It  was  not  only  our  Fathers  who  had  labored 
in  New  France  who  were  possessed  with  this 
ardor ;  the  whole  province  was  in  the  same  senti- 
ments, especially  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  who 
since  his  return  had  been  appointed  procurator  of 
the  mission  ;  but  as  he  saw  that  all  his  efforts  were 
useless,  he  experienced  the  same  fate  as  St.  Fran- 
cis Xavier,  who,  when  on  the  point  of  entering 
China,  found  so  many  secret  obstacles  to  his  pious 
design  that  he  fell  sick  and  died  of  chagrin.  So 
was  Father  Joseph  a  martyr  to  the  zeal  which 
consumed  him,  and  of  that  ardent  charity  which 
burned  in  his  heart  to  visit  his  church  again ;  and, 
seeing  himself  and  his  brethren  interdicted  by  a 
secret  conduct,   he  could   not  survive  it,  but  died, 


OF  THE  FAITH.  325 

full  of  merits,  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  on  the  29th 
of  March,  1632,  a  few  days  before  the  fleet  sailed.  * 

We  shall  see  elsewhere  how,  in  the  course  of 
time,  he  will  pursue  the  design  of  his  apostolate  by 
means  of  Monsieur  Soiiart,  his  nephew,  a  great 
servant  of  God  and  true  heir  of  the  virtues  and 
talents  of  that  great  apostle,  and  of  that  fervor 
which  he  had  for  New  France,  where  this  holy  ec- 
clesiastic will  spend  his  best  days,  the  space  of 
forty  years,  till  a  great  but  happy  old  age.  f 

The  fleet  got  ready,  and  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  more 
fortunate  J  than   we  and  more  powerful,  got  their 

*  Father  Joseph  le  Caron,  who  may  be  regarded  as  almost  the  first 
Apostle  of  Canada,  was  in  March,  1631,  Superior  of  St.  Margaret's 
Convent,  near  Gisors,  in  Normandy,  when  a  contagious  disorder  broke 
out  in  the  place,  and  in  the  sanitary  measures  adopted  all  his  writings 
on  Canada  were  burned.     "  Memoire  dcs  RecoUets,"  Margr)^  i.  p.  11, 

f  Rev.  Gabriel  Souart  was  a  Sulpitian.  He  reached  Quebec  July  29, 
1657,  and,  proceeding  to  Montreal  with  Mr.  de  Queylus,  became  first 
parish  priest  of  that  city.  He  was  superior  of  the  seminary  there, 
1661-8,  1674-6.  He  died  at  Paris,  March  8,  1691.  Juchereau,  "  Hist. 
de  I'Hotel  Dieu,"  p.  242  ;  Tanguay's  "  Repertoire,"  p.  43  ;  Faillon, 
"  Histoire  de  la  Colonic." 

X  Cardinal  Richelieu  offered  the  Canada  mission  to  the  Capuchins, 
an  order  he  greatly  favored,  and  January  20,  1632,  ordered  de  Caen 
to  take  three  Fathers  of  that  order.  At  their  request  he  committed  it  to 
the  Jesuits,  ordering  le  Jeune,  de  Noue,  and  Buret  to  go.  Passport 
issued  by  Card.  Richelieu  in  Martin's  "  Bressani,"  p.  295.     The  origi- 


326  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

shipment  ready.  The  Reverend  Father  le  Jeune, 
Superior  of  the  residence  of  Dieppe,  was  appointed 
Superior  of  the  mission.  As  associates  there  were 
assigned  to  him  Father  de  la  Nolle  and  a  Brother 
temporal  coadjutor. ''"  Monsieur  de  Champlain 
was  appointed  governor ;  but  as  the  Sieur  Emeric 
de  Caen  had  sustained  great  loss  in  1628  and  1629 
in  the  siege  and  capture  of  Quebec,  his  Majesty 
granted  him  the  enjoyment  of  the  country  for  one 
year  only,  in  order  to  reimburse  him.  He  was  not 
only  general  of  the  fleet,  but  also  governor  of 
Canada  till  the  following  year.  The  Sieur  du 
Plessis  Bouchard  was  his  lieutenant,  and  com- 
manded under  him.  The  letters-patent  and  orders 
of  the  kings  of  France  and  England  were  given 
him,  with  all  powers  to  restore  the  colony.  As 
soon  as  all  things  were  ready  for  their  departure 
at   Dieppe  f  they  set  sail  in   the  month   of  April, 

nal,  on  parchment,  signed  b}'  him,  was  a  few  3-ears  since  in  the 
Canadian  archives.     See  Relation  1632,  p.  i. 

*  Brother  Gilbert  Buret. 

f  The  vessel  sailed  from  Havre,  and  left  lionfleur  April  18,  1632 
(Le  Jeune,  Rel.  1632  [Oueb.  ed.],  p.  i),  and  anchored  before  Quebec 
July  5  (ib.  p.  7). 


OF  THE  FAITH.  327 

1632.  The  fleet  arrived  safely  at  Quebec,  where 
the  Sieur  de  Caen  having  presented  his  orders  to 
the  Sieur  Louis  Querk,  the  Enghsh  general,  the 
latter,  without  any  opposition,  surrendered  the 
place  and  country,  of  which  possession  was  a 
second  time  taken  in  the  name  of  the  king.  * 

We  leave  the  reader  to  judge  of  the  joy  which 
this  return  produced  in  the  hearts  of  the  French  in 
the  colony  who  had  been  permitted  by  the  English 
to  remain.  The  Jesuits  visited  them  first  and  saw 
the  sad  ruins  of  their  house,  which  these  heretics 
had  destroyed.  Happily,  they  had  spared  our  con- 
vent of  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  which  was  found 
in  good  enough  condition  to  receive  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  until  they  had  restored  their  house. f  Our 
Fathers  had  confided  to  Reverend  Father  le  Jeune 
before  he  left  France  the  spot  where  we  had  hid- 
den the  church  vessels  and  vestments,  with  all  pow- 
er to  use  them  in  the  divine  offices  till  our  return.  J 

*  Le  Jeune,  Rel.  1632,  p.  8. 

f  Le  Jeune  represents  the  Recollect  house  as  in  the  worse  con- 
dition. 

X  It  is  pretty  clear  that  the  Recollects  made  no  serious  effort  to  go 


328  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

The  reverend  Fathers  kindly  did  us  the  favor  to 
use  them  as  their  own,  as  well  as  the  church, 
house,  and  lands,  a  part  of  which  remains  in  their 
possession  till  this  day,  from  a  spot  called  la 
Gribane  to  near  the  edge  of  our  ditches. 

Their  first  care  was  to  restore  their  house  beyond 
the  river  St.  Charles,  and,  as  they  hoped  that  we 
vvould  never  return  to  Canada,  they  transferred 
among  other  things  the  name  and  title  of  our  con- 
vent to  their  house,  which  they  called  Our  Lady 
of  the  Angels. 

I  shall  not  omit  in  this  connection  an  obser- 
vation on  the  letter  falsely  attributed  to  the 
Reverend  Father  Charles  I'Alemant,  written  at 
Quebec  in  1626,  inserted  in  the  third  volume  of 
the  Mercure  Francois,  by  which,  among  other 
articles  contrary  to  sincerity,  he  tells  his  Provin- 
cial that  he  enters  into  his  idea  to  dedicate  their 
church  to  Our  Lady  of  the  Angels,  and  that 
ours  was  consecrated  to  the  name  of  St.  Charles. 

over  in  1632,  and,  as  here  stated,  authorized  the  Jesuits  to  recover  their 
church  property.    The  next  year  they  attempted  to  go  and  were  defeated. 


OF    THE  FAITH.  329 

This  makes  me  judge  that  this  letter  could 
not  be  from  Father  I'Alemand,  as  he  was  not 
ignorant  that  historians  of  the  same  time  had 
witnessed  that  the  first  church  in  Canada  be- 
longed to  the  Recollects  and  had  been  conse- 
crated under  the  name  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels.* 

We  shall  leave  those  Reverend  Fathers  to  re- 
store their  missions  while  we  resume  our  history  of 
the  new  efforts  made  by  our  Fathers  in  France  to 
follow    them    to   this   new   world.      The    province 


*  This  is  a  very  vague  foundation  for  doubting  Lalemant's  author- 
ship of  the  Relation  of  1626.  Sagard,  in  his  "  History  "  (1632),  chap.  vi. 
p.  50,  speaks  of  "  the  commencement  of  our  Convent  of  St.  Charles  in 
Canada,"  but  in  the  text  (p.  56)  says,  "  Our  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels."  The  confusion  is  easil}'  understood  if  what  Father  Lalemant 
states  is  a  fact — that  is,  that  the  chapel  in  the  Recollect  convent  of 
Our  Lady  of  the  Angels  was  dedicated  to  St.  Charles.  Sagard  gives 
no  name  to  this  chapel,  and  has  nothing  to  contradict  Lalemant,  whose 
letter  was  written  on  the  spot  in  1626  and  published  in  the  same  year. 
There  were  no  historians  at  that  time  whose  works  could  help  him 
know  the  name  of  his  own  chapel  ;  and  Sagard,  writing  six  years  later, 
to  some  extent  from  memory  and  in  France,  might  easily  confound  the 
names  of  the  convent  and  its  chapel.  Another  fact  is  that  on  March  10, 
1626,  the  Jesuits  obtained  of  the  Duke  de  Ventadour  a  concession 
called  Notre  Dame  des  Anges  on  the  River  St.  Charles  near  Quebec. 
"  Seignorial  Questions,"  A  iga 


330  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

was  constantly  strengthened  in  the  hope  it  en- 
tertained of  resuming  the  mission.  Father  Wil- 
liam Galleran  was  made  procurator.'^' 

The  news  received  every  year  from  Canada  en- 
kindled our  zeal  more  and  more.  We  learned  with 
agreeable  surprise,  by  the  ample  Relations  printed, 
the  great  progress  of  the  Gospel  in  that  country  ; 
all  France  admired  that  this  barbarism,  by  an  un- 
expected stroke  of  grace,  was  civilized  and  regu- 
lated in  so  short  a  time.  The  numerous  conver- 
sions appeared  every  year  to  augment  on  paper, 
even  among  nations  that  had  seemed  to  us  quite 
brutal.  O  God  !  what  eagerness  this  success  in- 
spired the  hearts  of  all  the  province  to  go  and 
share  in  so  wonderful  a  change,  if  they  were  as  real 
as  they  were  said ;  for  at  that  time  all  France  was 
duped  by  them,  although  the  Relations  of  New  Eng- 
land and  New  Holland  quite  contradicted  them.f 

*  Father  William  Galleran,  according  to  the  '  Mcmoire  qui  faict  " 
(L'Abeille,  vii.  No.  29),  and  which  was  drawn  up  in  1637,  "died  the 
year  before  while  charitably  ministering  to  those  sick  of  contagion  in 
the  city  of  Metz." 

f  No  works    are    cited.     New   York    historians,    O'Callaghan    and 


OF  THE  FAITH.  331 

Our  Fathers  deputed  to  Rome  the  Reverend  Fa- 
ther Anthony  Baudron  to  obtain  powers  and  spi- 
ritual authority.  He  was  supported  by  letters 
from  the  king  for  his  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
Rome.  Urban  VIII.  then  filled  the  Holy  See. 
A  relation  of  the  state  of  our  missions  and  the 
progress  made  in  them  by  the  province  was  pre- 
sented to  him,  so  that  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
being  heard  in  a  proposal  where  we  asked  only  to 
sacrifice  our  rest  and  lives  to  maintain  a  church 
which  God  had  begun  by  our  toil.  The  Holy 
Father,  who  favored  us  throughout,  gave  us  an 
express  command,  and,  in  spite  of  the  intrigues  set 
on  foot  to  defeat  our  project,  he  wrote  to  his  Ma- 
jesty and  addressed  him  through  his  Nuncio.  A 
new  decree  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  de  propa- 
ganda fide  was  issued  under  date  of  February  28, 
1635,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

"  On    the    report   of    his    Eminence    Cardinal    Monty   the 

Brodhead,  find  the  Jesuit  Relations  and  Dutch  documents  to  harmon- 
ize and  not  contradict.  The  statements  of  the  Relations  and  of  Jesuit 
documents  like  those  of  Druilletes  and  Bigot,  then  unprinted,  are  not 
contradicted  by  New  England  authorities. 


332  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Sacred  Congregation  has  ordered  that  the  mission  of  the  Re- 
collect Fathers  of  the  province  of  Paris  to  go  to  North  Ame- 
rica, commonly  called  Canada,  and  established  under  the 
auspices  of  Paul  V.  of  happy  memory,  should  be  confirmed  ; 
and  in  order  tliat  it  be  henceforth  better  conducted  and  bear 
greater  fruit,  it  has  in  the  first  place  judged  proper  that  the 
Father-Provincial  of  the  said  Recollects  be,  during  his  term, 
constituted  and  established  prefect  of  the  said  mission,  with 
full  power  to  appoint  a  vicar  or  a  prefect,  who  shall  be  obliged 
to  reside  in  said  country  of  Canada,  long  since  or  recently 
discovered,  or  to  be  discovered,  provided,  nevertheless,  that 
there  is  no  other  mission,  and  shall  take  care  of  them  and  see 
that  they  observe  regular  discipline. 

"  In  the  second  place,  it  wills  that,  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  Nuncio  resident  in  France,  the  said  Father-Provincial  and 
his  definitory  increase  the  said  mission  by  twenty  religious, 
whom  they  may  send  there  at  once,  or  at  several  times,  as 
during  his  time  they  shall  deem  proper. 

"  In  the  third  place,  it  grants  said  Provincial  prefect  of  the 
said  mission,  for  the  space  of  ten  years,  the  same  privileges 
granted  to  the  missionaries  of  the  Indies,  with  all  power  to 
communicate  them  to  his  vicar  or  vice-prefect,  and  even  to 
the  missionaries  both  of  the  old  and  of  the  new  mission,  in 
whole  and  in  part,  and  when  he  chooses,  and  he  may  also 
suspend  or  recall  tliem  entirely,  as  the  necessity  of  the  mis- 
sion shall  require. 

"  In  the  fourth  place,  it  enjoins  the  said  Provincial  to  ob- 
tain every  year  of  his  vice-prefect  a  Relation  of  the  progress 
of  his  mission,  which  he  shall  send  to  the  Most  Eminent  Pre- 
fect of  this  Congregation.     In  the  last  place,  it  commands 


OF  THE  FAITH.  333 

that  for  the  execution  of  said  faculties  recourse  shall  be  had 
to  the  Holy  Inquisition.*  Signed, 

"ANTHONY  BARBERINI, 
[Sealed.]  Cardinal  and  Prefect." 


And  lower  down, 


"FRANCIS  INGOLUS, 

"Secretary." 


The  Holy  Father,  moreover,  added  several  more 
authentic  privileges,  permissions,  and  authorities  in 
nineteen  other  articles,  which  I  omit  for  brevity, 
by  which  we  see  that  our  Holy  Father  Pope  Ur- 
ban VHI.  granted  such  permissions  to  the  Pro- 
vincial who  was  and  should  be  of  the  Recollects  of 
the  province  of  Paris,  for  the  term  of  ten  years,  all 
dated  March  29,  1635,  signed  Francis,  Cardinal 
Barberini  (L.S.)  ;  Francis  Ingolus,  Secretary; 
John  Anthony  Thomas,  Notary  of  the  Roman 
Church  and   Universal  Inquisition. 

The  Sacred  Congregation,  not  content  with  all 
these  precautions,  wrote  by  Signor  Ingolus  to 
the  Reverend  Father-Provincial  and  to  the  Guar- 

*  Sagard,  "  Histoire  du  Canada,"  Appendix. 


334  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

dian  of  Paris.*  The  Most  Eminent  Anthony 
Barberini,  Prefect  of  the  said  Congregation  and 
Protector  of  our  order,  condescended  to  add  his 
letters,  all  addressed  in  France  to  Monsignor 
Dascoli,  Nuncio  of  the  Holy  See,  who,  having 
some  time  after  received  new  orders  and  privi- 
leges, put  the  whole  into  our  Fathers'  hands 
and  conjured  them  to  continue  the  effects  of  their 
zeal  for  the  missions,  so  useful  and  necessary  for 
the  salvation  of  souls. 

The  letters  from  Rome  having  been  obtained, 
that  of  the  king,  new  orders  of  the  cardinal, 
the  Reverend  Father  Ignatius  le  Gault,  Provin- 
cial f  of  the  Recollects  of  Paris,  now  presented 
himself  in  person  at  their  meeting  on  the  6th  of 
September,  1635,  and  there  pleaded  our  cause  so 
clearly  that  these  gentlemen  not  only  granted  us 
our  return,   but   also  the  same    allowance  for  the 

*  The  letters  of  the  secretary,  dated  January  i6,  March  13,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1635,  are  in  the  Paris  Documents  in  Canada,  Series  II.  vol.  i. 
p.  75-81. 

f  He  was  Vicar-Provincial,  the  Provincial,  Father  Vincent  Mors, 
being  absent  in  Guienne.     "  Memoire  "  in  L'Abeille,  vii.  No.  30. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  335 

passage  of  our  Fathers  and  the  six  hundred  livres 
appomted  for  their  maintenance  on  the  spot.  This 
the  president  was  compelled  to  announce  from 
them  to  the  Reverend  Father-Provincial,  and  to 
have  it  committed  to  writing  at  once  in  his  pi'es- 
ence  ;  he  even  came  afterwards  to  our  convent  at 
Paris  to  assure  us  of  it,  yet  without  consenting  to 
give  us  a  copy  of  the  result.  The  province  made 
its  preparations  for  the  voyage  and  the  re-establish- 
ment of  our  missions  in  the  country.  Six  religious 
were  sent,  namely :  Father  Potentien  de  Mont- 
mellier,  Superior  and  Vice-Prefect ;  Fathers  Paul 
Huet,  Giles  du  Tilliet,  Florent  Morel,  and  Bro- 
thers Gervase  Mohier  and  Charles  Langoisseux.* 
Mechanics  were  hired  ;  alms  were  received  from  per- 
sons who  chose  to  contribute.  At  last,  when  every- 
thing was  ready.  Monsieur  de  Lauzon,  f  President, 

*  The  "  Memoire  "  (L'Abeille,  vii.  No.  30)  says  Rev.  Potentian  de 
Mommeillier,  from  Nevers,  Superior  ;  Father  Paul  Huet,  from  Metz  ; 
Father  Anthony  Soue,  Guardian  of  Vordin  ;  Father  Gratian  Charme, 
from  Gisors  ;  Brother  Gervase  Mohier,  from  Vitry  ;  Brother  Germain 
Petit,  from  Melun  ;  and  Brother  Lazarus,  Oblat. 

f  John  de  Lauson,  born  in  1582,  was  Intendant  of  Vienne  in 
Dauphiny,  Royal  Councillor  in  the  Council  of  State  and  Privy  Coun- 


336  FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 

Strictly  forbid  us  to  go,  sent  his  orders  to  that  effect 
to  the  fleet,  and  on  our  remonstrance  gave  as  his 
sole  reason  that  we  would  not  live  in  peace  there 
with  the  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers — a  reason  the 
more  frivolous  as  these  Fathers  themselves  refuted 
it  in  verbal  and  written  assurances ;  charity  not 
permitting  us  to  believe  that  the  said  Sieur  had 
any  understanding  with  them  in  his  insincere  con- 
duct towards  us. 

The  president  came  frequently  to  propose  and 
even  solicit  us  to  sell  to  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fa- 
thers our  convent,  church,  land,  vestments,  fur- 
niture, and  generally  all  that  we  owned  in  Canada. 

I  am  willing  to  believe  that  he  acted  on  his  own 

cil,  Maitre  des  Requetes  ordinaires  de  son  Hotel,  and  President  of  the 
Grand  Council;  was  appointed  b)' Cardinal  Richelieu  in  1627  Intendant 
of  the  Affairs  of  New  France  and  of  the  Company  ("Edits  et  Ordon- 
nances,"  i.  p.  16  ;  "  Memoires  des  Commissaires,"  ii.  p.  501  ;  Tanguay, 
"  Dictionnaire  G^nealogique,"  p.  172;  Lafontaine,  "  Memoires  de  la  So- 
ciete  Hist,  de  Montreal,"  i.  pp.  65-96).  He  was,  according  to  Rague- 
neau  ("Vie  de  la  Mere  Catherine,"  p.  319),  very  active  in  establishing 
the  Company  of  One  Hundred  Associates,  and  from  the  positions  he 
acquired  must  have  stood  high  in  favor  with  Richelieu  and  been  that 
great  minister's  agent  in  carrying  out  his  plans.  He  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Canada  January  17,  1651,  and  remained  in  office  till  1656, 
when  he  returned  to  France,  and  died  at  Paris  February  16,  1666. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  ZZ7 

impulse ;  but  as  our  Fathers  would  never  consent, 
he  hoped  to  drive  us  to  it  by  raising  all  obstacles, 
until  he  openly  declared  himself  against  us  in  the 
meetings  and  on  all  occasions. 

To  depreciate  our  chief  house  and  our  lands, 
they  had  drawn  up  a  verbal  to  their  fancy  when 
the  vessels  arrived  in  1633;  but,  being  found  un- 
faithful, our  Fathers  in  good  faith  applied  to  Mon- 
sieur de  Lozon,  who  by  his  letters  ordered  a  new 
examination  in  1634.  This  second  verbal  was  more 
false  than  the  first,  diminishing  the  number  and 
condition  of  the  cleared  lands,  the  state  of  the 
buildings,  and  church  furniture. 

Summation  made  March  7,  1636,  to  Monsieur  de 
Lauzon,  President  of  the  Assembly,  and  to  all  the 
gentlemen  of  the  Company,  at  the  request  of  Presi- 
dent Loisel,  in  the  name  and  as  Syndic-General 
of  the  Recollects,  tending  to  our  return  to  Can- 
ada. They  replied  in  our  favor,  unable  to  refuse  it 
to  the  justice  of  our  cause  and  the  orders  of  the 
courts  of  France  and  Rome. 

Similar  summation  at  Dieppe,  whither  our   Fa- 


33^  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 


OJ 


thers  had  repaired  for  passage,  dated  April  3  in 
the  same  year,  at  the  request  of  said  Sieur  Loisel, 
in  the  said  name,  tending  to  the  same  end.  They 
trifled  with  our  poor  Fathers  and  put  them  off 
with  words  till  the  moment  when  they  had  to  set 
sail ;  then  a  counter  order  was  given  by  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Company,  seigneurs,  and  proprie- 
tors of  the  country  and  the  vessels,  so  that  the 
general  refused  to  take  them. 

As  the  Sieur  de  Lauzon  had  no  reason  but  the 
interest  of  the  Reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  our  Fa- 
thers had  only  time  to  write  them  pressing  letters, 
which  were  sent  to  Canada.  The  original  an- 
swers have  been  found  from  the  Reverend  Father 
Charles  Lallemant,  Superior  of  the  missions,  dated 
at  Quebec  August  19,  1636,  which  are  a  kind  of 
manifesto  by  which  he  not  only  justifies  himself  of 
the  imputation  of  having  caused  our  delay,  but 
also  protests  that  he  and  all  his  religious  desire 
nothing  so  much  as  our  return.* 

*  The  case  of  the  Recollects  was  a  hard  one,  and  this  work  shows 
how  bitterly  they  felt  their  exclusion,  which  they  ascribed  to  the  Jesu- 


OF  THE  FAITH.  339 

Backed  by  this  testimony,  a  new  request  was 
addressed  to  the  king's  council  January  4,  1637. 
It  was  granted  in  our  favor,  but  remitted  for  execu- 
tion to  the  Company,  to  whom  the  Reverend  Fa- 
ther Ignatius  le  Gault  presented  the  request.  It 
was  read  by  Mr.  OHer  in  his  presence  on  the  15th 
of* January    in    the    same   year.     The    request    an- 


its.  There  is,  however,  reason  to  believe  that  the  whole  was  decided 
by  Cardinal  Richelieu.  His  orders  to  the  first  Jesuits  show  that  he 
first  offered  the  Canada  mission  to  the  Capuchins,  and  then  assigned 
them  to  Acadia  and  removed  the  Recollects  from  that  province. 
"Archives  des  Affaires  Etrangeres  k  Paris,"  vol.  Ameriqiw,  fol.  10?, 
106,  cited  by  Faillon,  "  Histoire  de  la  Colonie,"  p.  280.  The  Com- 
panv  of  New  France  was  created  by  Richelieu  and  could  not  oppose 
his  will.  Le  Clercq  nowhere  intimates  that  his  order  appealed  to  the 
cardinal,  who  could  have  restored  them  in  a  moment.  The  Recol- 
lects had,  moreover,  taken  a  step  that  gave  umbrage  to  the  govern- 
ment. They  had  solicited  at  Rome  the  appointment  of  a  bishop  for 
Canada,  and  one  of  their  order,  a  native  of  Guyenne,  well  known  in 
Rome,  seems  to  have  been  actually  named,  as  French  ecclesiastics 
tried  to  induce  him  to  resign  in  their  favor  ("  Memoire  des  Recol- 
lectz,"  Margr}-,  i.  p.  15).  When  the  Jesuits  sailed  in  1632  with  their 
passports  the  Recollects  did  not  attempt  to  go  ;  no  reason  is  given, 
but  from  the  cardinal's  policy  it  is  evident  that  he  had  or  would  have 
refused  to  give  them  a  passport.  See  Faillon,  "  Histoire  de  la  Colo- 
nie," pp.  2S0-2.  The  Jesuits  received  their  passport  at  the  last  mo- 
ment from  the  hands  of  a  nephew  of  the  cardinal  (Rel.  1632),  and  must 
have  had  already  powers  from  the  Recollects,  who  evidently  did  not 
attempt  to  go. 


340  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

swered,  was  granted,  not  for  this  year  but  for  an- 
other time,  under  different  pretexts  and  new  inci- 
dents so  well  kept  up  that  we  had  in  fact  to  await  a 
more  favorable  time."^' 

Our  Indians  believe  that  there  is  a  certain  invisi- 
ble Spirit  which  governs  all,  one  good  and  one  bad, 
yet  without  power  to  understand  or  specify  which 
is  the  fortunate,  which  the  unfortunate  genius. 
We  learned  in  after-years  that  they  spoke  thus 
when  told  of  the  obstacles  which  retained  us. 
These  Indians,  who  do  not  lack  good  sense,  told 
our  French  that  the  Manitou  which  kept  us  was 
an  evil  spirit,  and  that  in  our  world  we  had  not 
jugglers  expert  enough  to  conjure  it ;  for  they  im- 
agine that  the  world  ends  at  the  end  of  theirs  and 
at  the  beginning  of  the  great  lake  which  is  in  our 
ocean. 

*The  "  Memoire  qui  faict  pour  I'afFaire  des  Peres  Recollects  de  la 
prouince  de  Sainct  Denj's  ditte  de  Paris,  touchant  le  droict  qu'ils  ont 
depuis  I'an  1615,  d'aller  en  Canada  soubs  I'authoritfe  de  Sa  Maiest6,  at 
mission  des  Souuerains  Pontifes,  soubs  la  faueur  desquels  ils  ont  basty 
vn  conuent  et  Eglise  a  Quebecq,  ils  ont  celebr6  les  SS.  Mysteres  en 
diuers  endroits  du  diet  pays  les  premiers  "  was  apparently  prepared 
at  this  time.  The  original  is  at  Versailles.  The  text  in  L'Abeille,  vii. 
No.  25,  seems  more  accurate  than  Margry's,  "  Decouvertes,"  i,  p.  7. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  341 

Although  these  people  judged  by  all  these  delays 
that  we  had  not  as  much  mind  as  they  thought  be- 
fore, inclination,  however,  and  the  desire  to  see  their 
first  Fathers  again,  were  unaltered,  as  we  learned 
by  the  letters  of  our  friends  and  those  which 
came  every  year  from  Canada.  I  myself  had 
a  sensible  proof  a  fortnight  after  my  arrival  from 
France  at  Quebec,  when  I  first  visited  the  Indians 
of  the  mission  of  Laurette  and  Syllerie ;  for  the 
Hurons,  Montagnais,  and  Algomquins  had  still — 
some  by  tradition,  the  older  by  themselves — the  re- 
collection of  and  present  inclination  for  our  old  Fa- 
thers ;  so  that  some  old  men  among  them,  unable 
to  make  me  understand  in  their  language,  of  which 
I  had  no  knowledge,  what  they  wanted  to  say, 
they  knelt  before  me,  in' the  presence  of  the  Rev- 
erend Father  Chaumonot,  Jesuit,  their  missionary, 
clasped  their  hands,  and  with  their  hands  raised  to 
heaven  several  times  repeated  the  names  of  Father 
Joseph  and  Father  Nicholas,  sprinkling  water  on 
their  heads  to  show  me  that  those  apostolic  mis- 
sionaries had   baptized  them — so  true  is  it  that  the 


342  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

memory  of  the  just  is  precious  before  God  and  be- 
fore men.  I  admit  that  religious  discernment  had 
not  as  great  a  share  as  the  natural  inclination  and 
preference  they  had  in  our  favor,  but  after  all  it  is 
certain,  as  events  afterwards  convinced  us,  that 
these  tribes  being  people  of  habit,  and  having 
become  accustomed  to  our  Fathers,  our  removal 
greatly  retarded  their  conversion  ;  and,  without 
speaking  of  the  means  which  we  had  put  in  use, 
to  which,  however,  no  great  regard  was  afterwards 
paid,  missionaries  of  different  institutes  would  have 
greatly  advanced  the  work,  the  harvest  being,  be- 
sides, ample  enough  to  give  employment  to  ten 
thousand  ;  not  that  the  little  rising  churches  we 
had  left  there'^'  belied  their  faith,  except  two  or 
three  who  could  not  place  confidence  in  new  mis- 
sionaries and  did  not  sustain  their  vocation  with  all 
perseverance.  We  must,  however,  hope  that  God 
gave  them  grace  to  see  their  error,  although  some 


*  These  "Indian  churches  "  are  rather  at  variance  with  other  parts 
of  the  work,  and  can  mean  onl}-  the  few  converts  whom  they  had  made 
in  the  fourteen  years. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  343 

writers  have  damned  them  with  full  right,  as  they 
have  canonized  others  who  are  not  less  suspicious  ; 
for  Canada  is  a  country  where  they  decide  sover- 
eignly of  the  eternal  lot  of  folk,  even  when  they 
are  still  full  of  life,  and  where  they  damn  or  save 
men  with  plenitude  of  power  and  without  any 
forms  of  law. 

It  is  just  to  add  here,  to  the  glory  of  Father  Wil- 
liam Galleran,  an  apostolic  man,  that  he  met  the 
same  fate  as  Father  Joseph  le  Caron  had  experi- 
enced ;  and  that  this  last  attempt,  which  seemed  so 
well  supported,  having  failed,  this  poor  religious 
began  to  despair  of  our  return  and  made  no  long 
struggle,  for  he  died  of  regret  the  same  year 
(1636),  in  great  repute  for  virtue.  We  may  be- 
lieve that  God,  who  regards  our  services  in  the 
preparation  of  the  heart  and  good-will,  wished  to 
anticipate  his  crown  and  give  him  the  reward  of 
many  years  of  toil  which  he  had  designed  to  under- 
take in  Canada. 

This  did  not  fail  to  make  some  noise  at  court 
among  those  interested  in  the  good  of  the  country, 


344  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

each  one  taking  a  side,  some  from  an  interest  in  re- 
ligion, others  from  poHcy,  many  impelled  by  fear 
and  hope  ;  for  though  the  two  bodies  were  per- 
fectly united  together  and  persuaded  of  their  good 
intentions  towards  each  other,  nevertheless  the  rev- 
erend Jesuit  Fathers  saw  themselves  suspected  of 
preventing  the  return  of  the  Recollects.  They 
chose  to  exculpate  themselves  by  a  certificate,  by 
protestations,  by  authentic  letters  which  I  have 
read,  one  from  the  Reverend  Father  le  Jeune, 
Superior  of  the  mission,  to  the  Father-Guardian  of 
Paris,  dated  August  i6,  1632  ;  another  from  the 
Reverend  Father  Charles  Lallemant  to  Father 
Baudron,  secretary  of  the  Reverend  Father-Pro- 
vincial of  the  Recollects  of  St.  Denis  in  France, 
dated  September  7,  1637;  and  a  third  from  the 
same  Father  Lallemant  to  Brother  Gervase  Mohier, 
in  which  he  complains  greatly  that  the  Fathers  of 
the  Society  were  suspected  in  France  and  Canada 
of  being  opposed  to  our  return. 

These  were   authentic  proofs    of  their   sincerity 
which  leave  no  doubt  of  the  truth. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  345 

Our  Reverend  Recollect  Fathers  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Aquitaine,  who  had  from  161 9  given  so 
many  proofs  of  their  zeal  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Faith  in  Acadia,  had  been  driven  out  by  the 
English  in  1628,  but  they  were  more  fortunate 
than  our  Parisian  Fathers  in  obtaining  their  return 
to  their  former  missions  after  the  king  resumed 
possession  of  Canada  and  the  limits  of  Acadie  had 
been  settled  between  the  two  crowns ;  for  as  these 
Reverend  Fathers  found  no  one  to  compete  with 
them,  and  besides  it  was  not  necessary  to  come  to 
court  and  move  machinery  as  difficult  as  that  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  great  Company,  the  Asso- 
ciates of  Acadie  anticipated  the  Reverend  Fathers, 
and,  remembering  the  good  they  had  received  in 
the  spiritual  order  without  their  interfering  in  other 
matters,  they  had  recourse  to  their  old  missionaries. 
Our  Fathers  accordingly  passed  over  in  1633,  and 
afterwards  distinguished  themselves  by  their  merito- 
rious labors  and  zeal  for  the  French  and  Indians  as 
long  as  the  affairs  of  the  former  were  able  to  sup- 
port their  enterprises,  and  a  spirit  of  peace  reigned 


34^     FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

among  these  gentlemen.  I  shall  not  give  a  detail 
of  their  missions,  referring  the  reader  to  the  natural 
and  simple  Relation  which  the  Fathers  of  the  same 
province  have  given  to  the  public* 

*  These  three  Recollects  were  sent  out  by  the  Company  of  New 
France  in  1630  and  settled  at  Port  la  Tour  (Champlain,  Prince  ed., 
i.  p.  298),  but  Le  Clercq  suppresses  the  fact  that  Richelieu  in  1633 
ordered  them  to  be  sent  to  France  and  Capuchins  to  be  despatched  in 
their  stead  (Faillon,  i.  p.  280).  This  confirms  the  suspicion  that  the 
whole  matter  of  missionaries  in  the  colony  was  decided  absolutely  by 
Cardinal  Richelieu,  and  that  he  did  not  wish  Recollects  to  be  employed. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

NEW  ATTEMPTS  OF  THE  RECOLLECTS  OF  THE  PRO- 
VINCE OF  PARIS  TO  RETURN  TO  CANADA,  AND 
VARIOUS  EVENTS  WHICH  HAPPENED  IN  THIS 
MATTER. 

T  T  is  a  glory  and  great  subject  of  consolation 
-^  for  our  iioly  order  that  the  religious  of  St. 
Francis  had  the  advantage  of  being  the  precursors 
of  the  Reverend  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  in 
all  countries  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  of 
making  the  first  discoveries,  of  clearing  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Lord,  and  preparing  the  way  for  those 
apostolic  men  in  both  Indies,  Africa,  Asia,  Bar- 
bary,  and  Turkey,  and  generally  in  every  place 
where  the  sons  of  St.  Ignatius  have  marched  in  the 
foot-steps  of  the  sons  of  St.  Francis.'^ 

In  the  East  Indies,  where  they  are  now  so  power- 

*  The  Franciscans  were  established  in  1209,  and  the  Jesuits  in  1540, 
more  than  three  centuries  later. 


34^  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

ful  in  credit,  merit,  and  possessions,  it  is  known  that 
eight  Friars  Minors  were  sent  there  in  1500  to  an- 
nounce the  Gospel  at  Calicut  and  Cochin,  and 
even  received  the  crown  of  martyrdom  there,  ex- 
cept Father  Henry,  who  on  his  return  to  Spain  be- 
came confessor  to  the  King  of  Portugal  and  Bish- 
op of  Cepta.  In  1502  a  more  numerous  mission  of 
our  Fathers  was  sent  there,  who  extended  the  ex- 
ploration, planted  the  standard  of  the  cross,  and 
made  prodigious  conquests  to  the  Gospel  in  the 
conversion  of  those  nations.  In  15 10  our  Fathers 
built  the  famous  college  and  seminary  of  Goa, 
which  they  conducted  and  increased  for  twenty- 
eight  years,  till  at  last  in  1542  they  resigned  it  to 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  in  order  to  devote  themselves 
entirely  with  that  great  saint  and  his  disciples  to 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  those  barbarous  nations, 
as  the  historians  of  those  times  and  the  authors  of 
the  life  of  that  saint,  especially  Father  Horace 
Tursellini,  admit  in  early  editions,  although  in  later 
ones  this  mark  of  gratitude  has  been  omitted, 
though  so  justly  due  us. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  349 

All  know  the  glory  we  have  had  in  all  these 
countries  of  the  East,  even  in  Japan,  of  sharing 
with  those  great  men  their  apostolic  labors,  and 
even  the  crown  of  martyrdom  ;  that  the  Recollects 
opened  to  them  the  way  of  the  Gospel  in  the  king- 
dom of  Voxu,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Japan;  that  by 
their  preaching  the  king  and  his  kingdom  acknow- 
ledged the  religion  of  the  true  God,  burnt  more 
than  eight  hundred  idols,  and  planted  everywhere 
in  his  empire  the  arms  of  our  salvation,  so  that 
the  king  in  161 3  deputed  a  famous  embassy  of 
a  hundred  Japanese  gentlemen,  who  embarked 
on  the  28th  October,  161 3,  and  landed  in  Spain 
on  the  loth  of  November,  16 14,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Father  Louis  Sotello,  a  Recollect,  who 
presented  to  the  Pope  the  ambassador,  who 
acknowledged  him  as  head  of  the  Church  in  the 
name  of  the  king  and  his  subjects. 

As  regards  the  West  Indies,  otherwise  called 
America,  it  is  not  less  known  that  this  great  part 
of  the  world  was  entirely  discovered  in  the  years 
1492-3  by  Christopher  Columbus,  accompanied  by 


350  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

religious  of  St.  Francis;  that  in  the  year  15 16  we 
had  ah-eady  considerable  houses  and  convents  at 
Cubagnia,  Cumana,  and  Markapana,  where  our  re- 
ligious were  everywhere  massacred ;  that  there 
were  Recollects  in  the  kingdoms  of  Tlaxcalla, 
Mechioacan,  and  Mexico,  and,  to  be  brief,  in  the 
year  1 540-1  Spain  had  already  conquered  more 
than  a  hundred  kingdoms  and  a  vast  extent  of 
country  of  which  Europe  is  not  a  third,  while  our 
religious,  the  first  and  sole  evangelical  laborers, 
had  subjected  a  part  of  its  subjects  to  the  empire 
of  Christ.*  In  these  vast  countries  they  afterwards 
called,  introduced,  welcomed,  received,  sustained, 
loved,  and  favored  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  and 
continued  their  evangelical  labors  with  them. 

It  is  not  less   clear  that   in   other  parts  of    the 


*  The  Franciscans  were  not  alone.  Benedictines,  Dominicans,  and 
Augustinians  were  also  engaged  in  these  American  missions.  Yet  it 
is  true  that  the  Franciscans  had  a  very  large  part  in  these  efforts.  The 
Spanish  Franciscans  for  manj'  j'ears  directed  missions  among  the  In- 
dians in  New  Mexico,  Florida,  Texas,  and  California,  and  of  sevent)'- 
eight  Catholic  priests  and  religious  who  were  killed  amid  their  labors 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  no  fewer  than  fift)'-five  were 
Franciscans. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  351 

world  the  Franciscan  religious  even  now  support 
powerful  missions  established  in  the  origin  of  the 
order. 

Alexander  IV.  in  1254  bears  witness  in  one  of 
his  letters,  "that  they  were  scattered  in  all  the 
lands  of  heretics  and  unbelievers."  These  are  the 
very  words  of  this  Sovereign  Pontiff : 

"Alexander,  to  our  well-beloved  the  Friar  Minors  con- 
ducting missions  in  the  lands  of  the  Saracens,  Pagans, 
Greeks,  Bulgarians,  Cumanians,  Etluopians,  Syrians,  Hiber- 
nians, Jacobites,  Nubians,  Nestorians,  Georgians,  Armenians, 
Indians,  Mossellaniques,  Tartars,  Hungarians  of  Lower  and 
Upper  Hungary,  Christians  captives  among  the  Turks  and 
other  infidel  nations  of  the  East,  or  any  other  part  whatever, 
health  and  apostolic  benediction." 

In  1272  Father  Jerome  Dascoli,  afterwards  Pope 
Nicholas  IV.,  with  his  disciples,  not  only  effected 
the  reconciliation  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches, 
but  also  carried  the  Gospel  to  Tartary.  The  reli- 
gious of  our  order  were  invited  by  the  princes  of 
both  Armenias  in  1289,  ^"^  were  still  extending 
their  conquests  in   1332. 

Turkey  and  the  kingdoms  subject  to  the  Grand 


352  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Seigneur  have  been  and  are  theatres  of  their  zeal 
and  witnesses  of  our  apostoHc  labors,  and  it  is 
known  that  the  Holy  Land  and  several  other  parts 
subject  to  the  Turk  are  still  governed  under  the 
prefecture  of  the  children  of  St.  Francis,  who  there 
honor  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  and  with  plea- 
sure give  them   employment. 

History  mentions  in  1342  missions  of  ours  in 
Bosnia  and  Slavonia  against  the  infidels,  among 
the  Grand  Tartars  who  now  possess  China,  in  Per- 
sia, Media,  and  Chaldea. 

In  1370  the  mission  was  augmented  by  Urban 
V,  with  sixty  of  our  religious,  the  order  being  every- 
where honored  with  a  great  number  of  martyrs. 

The  embassy  of  Eugene  IV.  and  the  mission 
of  forty  religious  to  Prester  John  in  1439,  after- 
wards supported  by  a  still  greater  number,  is  also 
well  known,  as  also  the  reduction  of  his  states  and 
their  submission  to  the  Roman  Church. 

I  should  never  end,  were  I  to  undertake  to  set 
down  the  most  famous  missions  with  which  we 
have  been   honored    throughout   the  world  where 


OF   THE   FAITH.  353 

the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  are  scattered  ;  but  they 
there  entered  into  our  labors,  or  rather  we  have  the 
advantage  of  continuing  them  with  those  apostoHc 
men,  acting  everywhere  in  admirable  concert  and 
perfect  union  for  the  sake  of  the  glory  of 
God  and  of  the  Gospel  which  we  seek  there 
solely. 

Hence  our  Fathers  of  Paris,  having  invited  that 
illustrious  body  to  Canada  to  aid  them  in  laboring 
in  the  conquest  of  souls,  had  on  the  one  side  great 
joy  to  learn  every  year  the  happy  progress  of  the 
establishment  of  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers;  but 
this  joy,  though  free  from  jealousy,  was  clouded  by 
a  holy  sorrow  to  see  that,  if  we  had  preceded  them 
in  all  the  other  missions  of  the  New  World,  that 
of  New  France  was  the  only  one  where  we  had 
not  the  consolation  of  continuing  our  apostolic  la- 
bors with  them,  the  more  so  as  the  reciprocal  char- 
ity between  the  two  bodies,  which  had  never  been 
weakened,  persuaded  us  that  these  Fathers,  full  of 
virtue    and   merit,   regretted  it   as    deeply  as    they 

manifested  in  their  letters. 
23 


354  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

We  shall  not  give  the  detail  of  a  new  attempt 
made  in  1639.  Two  deputies  arrived  in  France 
from  Canada  and  secretly  addressed  our  Fathers  at 
Paris  to  show  the  gehenna  in  which  the  consciences 
of  the  colony  were  to  see  themselves  governed  by 
the  same  persons  in  spirituals  and  temporals,  con- 
juring us  to  do  our  best  at  court  to  obtain  our 
restoration.  Father  Paul  Huet  accompanied  them 
to  some  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company,  who 
were  friendly  to  us  and  who  freely  opened  their 
mind  to  us,  showing  us  that  they  were  persuaded 
of  the  necessity  for  our  return,  even  for  their  own 
interest,  and  promising  all  kinds  of  favor. 

New  request  presented  to  the  cardinal,  the 
grounds  of  which  will  be  given  hereafter.  It  was 
granted  according  to  its  tenor,  and,  as  before,  sent 
to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company,  who  in  private 
gave  us  their  word  ;  but  when  they  had  consulted 
the  oracle  our  own  friends  turned  their  backs  on 
us,  not  willing  even  to  give  us  leave  to  go  to  Cana- 
da, which  they  did  not  refuse  laborers,  mechanics, 
and  farmers. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  355 

We  had  thought  that  this  occasion  would  be 
all  the  more  favorable  to  us,  as  they  were  that  year, 
at  the  request  of  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  send- 
ing out  to  Canada  some  Ursulines  and  Hospital 
Nuns  for  the  spiritual  and  corporal  aid  of  the 
colony  ;  but  finally,  secret  reasons  having  excluded 
us,  we  had  to  let  the  matter  rest  there  and  conform 
to  the  orders  of  God. 

Meanwhile  our  Fathers,  always  relying  on  the 
justice  of  their  cause  and  more  and  more  strength- 
ened by  the  impulse  of  new  zeal,  did  not  despair  of 
a  more  favorable  time  when  the  clamors  of  the 
country  and  the  force  of  circumstances  would  over- 
come the  active  intrigues  which  prevented  our 
return. 

The  queen,  whose  piety  had  formerly  greatly  fa- 
vored our  mission,  still  showed  her  inclination  for 
it ;  her  justice  was  impatient  to  see  us  thus  baffled, 
so  that  when  she  became  regent  of  the  Kingdom 
after  the  death  of  Louis  XIII.  she  showed  her 
approval  of  our  request.  Her  confessor,  a  re- 
ligious of    our  order,  and   many  other  persons  of 


356  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

rank,  strongly  and  even  efficaciously  interested 
themselves   in    the   years    1643    and    1644. 

At  this  time  came  new  complaints  from  the 
country  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company.  The 
latter  having  for  many  years  seen  that  the  outlay 
greatly  exceeded  the  income  ;  that  the  trade,  far 
from  profiting,  was  entirely  ruining,  them  ;  that 
since  the  establishment  of  their  association  a  com- 
pany had  been  formed  in  the  Company,  and  a 
society  in  their  Society  ;  that  some  of  them  pro- 
fited by  the  wreck  of  others,  by  private  under- 
standing with  the  agents  on  the  spot  and  the  most 
intelligent  and  influential  persons  in  the  country, 
they  had  then  opened  their  eyes  in  earnest  to  their 
own  interest,  and  felt  a  little  too  late  that  they  had 
taken  false  measures  and  established  their  com- 
merce on  ruinous  foundations.  We  shall  else- 
where see  how  they  were  in  consequence  obliged 
to  abandon   the   trade   to   the  settlers   in  Canada. 

The  discontented  members  joined  us,  and, 
backed  by  letters  from  the  chief  men  in  Canada, 
we   presented   our   request  to    the  queen  and  her 


OF  THE  FAITH.  357 

council.  This  request  was  accompanied  by  a  fac- 
tum, of  which,  to  avoid  fatiguing  the  reader,  I  shall 
here  give   merely   the  substance   and   summary : 

"We  there  humbly  remonstrated  our  most  just  right  :  ist, 
that  we  had  been  sent  to  Canada  in  1615  by  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction which  the  late  king  and  his  council  had  bestowed 
on  the  Recollects  and  by  letters-patent  granted  to  all  our  es- 
tablishments ;  2d,  that  many  persons  of  rank,  piety,  and 
even  of  the  first  degree  in  the  kingdom,  princes  of  the  blood 
and  the  queen-mother,  had  contributed  of  their  charity  ;  3d, 
that  the  province  had  expended  considerable  sums  in  build- 
ings at  Quebec,  which  gradually  depreciated,  as  well  as  in 
distant  missions  ;  4th,  that  the  public  were  aware  not  only 
that  the  Recollects  had  been  the  first  and  only  apostles  of 
New  France,  but  that  for  fourteen  years  they  had  cultivated 
that  vineyard  of  the  Lord  with  some  success,  spiritually  di- 
rected the  French  in  the  colony,  and  announced  the  Gospel  to 
more  than  fifty  *  barbarous  nations,  bearing  during  all  that 
time  the  burden  of  the  day  and  the  heat ;  5th,  that  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Company  had  originally  agreed  in  their  treaty 
with  the  king,  and  by  a  special  contract  with  the  province,  to 
send  over  and  maintain  there  a  number  of  Recollects,  iind 
in  pursuance  of  this  treaty  we  had  borne  all  the  expense 
till  '29,  when  the  English  took  possession  of  Quebec,  where 
we  suffered  great  losses  ;  6th,  that  these  gentlemen  had  con- 
stantly trifled  with  us  from  1632,  the  province  having  three 
times  in  different  years,  on  their  word,  prepared  embarkations 

*  It  is  not  easy  from  his  account  or  Sagard's  to  make  out  fiftj^  tribes. 


358  FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 

at  great  expense  ;  7th,  that  at  present,  as  the  Company  was 
negotiating  with  the  settlers  in  regard  to  trade,  they  should 
take  no  more  interest  or  assume  authority,  as  the  colonists, 
subjects  of  the  king,  and  the  Indian  nations  asked  for  us  most 
earnestly  ;  8th,  that  we  were  bearers  of  testimonials  showing  all 
the  services  we  had  rendered  in  the  discoveries  of  tlie  coun- 
try ;  9th,  that  the  very  Indians  still  regretted  our  absence, 
and  that  the  auste'rity  of  the  Recollects,  the  disinterestedness 
of  their  conduct,  simplicity,  humility,  and  charity,  and  all 
these  externals  of  abjectness,  powerfully  attracted  these  In- 
dian nations  ;  loth,  that,  having  our  establishments  in  the 
country  already,  we  needed  little  to  restore  them,  contenting 
ourselves,  moreover,  with  poor  fare  for  our  support;  iilli, 
that,  far  from  being  a  burden  to  the  rising  colony,  the  pro- 
vince depended  only  on  aid  from  France,  it  being  known  by 
the  public  voice  that  a  blessing  and  secret  multiplication  of 
Providence  had  supported  us  there  for  fourteen  years,  and 
that  God's  arm  was  not  shortened  to  support  us  again  ;  12th, 
that  we  would  not  excite  the  jealousy  of  the  reverend  Jesuit 
Fathers,  as  some  members  of  the  Company  alleged,  as  these 
reverend  Fathers  had  assured  us  by  letter,  the  harvest  being 
so  great  and  ample  in  that  vast  extent  of  country  and  differ- 
ent nations,  that  all  the  religious  bodies  in  France  might  find 
employment  there  ;  13th,  that  we  were  not  indeed  an  institute 
to  maintain  and  advance  trade  and  commerce,  but  that  we 
were  equally  incapable  of  partaking  in  its  profits  directly  or 
indirectly  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  merchants  would  bear  testi- 
mony that  our  Fathers,  perfectly  disinterested  for  themselves, 
had  favored  them  in  all  that  depended  on  their  ministry  ;  14th, 
that  the  Recollects  were  not  of  a  state  and  institute  to  enter 


OF  THE  FAITH.  359 

into  competition  with  any  one  for  credit  and  pre-eminence, 
ranks,  dignities,  funds,  rents,  lands,  seigneuries,  and  all  other 
hopes  of  fortune,  asking  only  to  devote  their  toil  and  life  to  the 
vineyard  of  the  Lord  and  the  establishment  of  his  kingdom  ; 
15th,  that  if  Monsieur  de  Lauzon,  President  of  the  Com- 
pany, alleged  that  we  were  not  fit  for  a  new  colony,  our  insti- 
tute not  permitting  us  to  send  over  and  support  a  number  of 
inhabitants,  clear  lands,  establish  farms,  villages,  towns,  and 
seigneuries,  and  make  capital  available,  whence  he  pretended 
to  conclude  that  it  would  be  more  advantageous  to  multiply 
the  establishments  of  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers  than  to  send 
Recollects  there,  we  showed  at  length  that  this  reason  could 
not  pass  with  Christians,  and  that  it  was  altogether  contrary 
to  the  apostolic  spirit,  foreign  to  the  intentions  and  end,  ac- 
tually destructive  of  the  fruit  and  effect,  of  missions  ;  that, 
moreover,  this  reason  showed  little  policy,  as  these  establish- 
ments would  be  made  gradually  by  seculars  and  lay  persons, 
and  that  after  many  ages  they  could  aver  that  the  religious 
of  St.  Francis  had  no  more  right  than  the  first  day  to  the 
lands  and  property  in  those  vast  countries  ;  while,  should  the 
country  one  day  be  peopled,  the  principal  seigneuries,  farms, 
and  best  property  would  be  possessed  by  missionaries,  mas- 
ters alike  of  temporal  and  spiritual." 

At  last,  in  reply  to  the  frivolous  reasons  al- 
leged by  Monsieur  de  Lauzon  to  support  the 
charge  that  religious  without  fixed  income  were 
not  proper  for  new  countries,  we  inserted  a  de- 
tail   of   the    almost    infinite    number    of    colonies 


360  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

established  for  many  ages  in  the  East  and  West, 
with  so  great  progress  in  spirituals  and  tempo- 
rals, although  none -were  employed  on  them  but 
the  religious  of  St.  Francis  or  others  without 
fixed  income,  to  whom  kings,  princes,  states,  and 
commercial  companies  had  on  this  point  rendered 
most  flattering  testimony  ;  and  that  there  was  no 
reason  why  New  France  should  be  on  this  point 
an  exception. 

The  Reverend  Father  Ignatius  Legault,  for- 
merly vicar-general  of  the  order,  was  then  pro- 
vincial of  the  province  of  Paris.  He  himself, 
in  company  with  Father  Paul  Huet,  presented  a 
most  humble  remonstrance  joined  to  our  mani- 
fest.    He  did  the  same  at  the   Company's  office. 

As  it  was  not  possible  to  deny  the  justice  of 
our  reasons,  the  request  was  granted  in  council 
and  orders  were  issued ;  but  in  spite  of  all  the 
precautions  we  could  take  not  to  be  sent  back 
to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Company,  more  cunning 
and  powerful  persons  played  their  part  so  well 
that  it  was  inserted  in  the  order  that  we  should 


OF  THE  FAITH.  361 

be  obliged  to  obtain  the  approval  of  the  Com- 
pany. 

This  was  putting  us  off,  as  the  proverb  is,  to 
the  Greek  calends,  as  we  should  always  find  in 
our  way  Monsieur  de  Lauzon,  President  of  the 
Board,  and  three  or  four  others  of  these  gentle- 
men, who  put  a  good  face  on  false  play,  and 
who,  always  admitting  our  right,  were  too  much 
slaves  of  certain  persons  to  consent  against  their 
will  to  the  justice  of  our  cause.  The  best-inten- 
tioned  of  the  gentlemen  nevertheless  consented 
to  take  our  papers  once  more.  Our  Reverend 
Father- Provincial  was  at  the  office  on  the  ap- 
pointed day ;  the  extract  of  our  reasons  and  the 
orders  of  the  court  were  read.  Our  Fathers  left 
the  office.  Discussion  followed.  It  was  said 
that  they  granted  us  wiiat  we  asked,  on  condi- 
tion that  we  should  wait  till  the  following  year, 
these  gentlemen  not  wishing  to  decide  finally  till 
they  had  consulted  the  colonists  to  whom  they 
abandoned  the  trade. 

Meanwhile,  as  all  these  negotiations  were  spun 


362  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

out  and  the  preparations  of  the  fleet  were  pro- 
ceeding, Monsieur  de  Repentigny,*  General,  had 
asked  of  us,  and  even  obtained  of  our  Reverend 
Father-Provincial,  three  of  our  relig^ious,  offerinsf 
to  carry  them  over  at  his  own  expense  and  sup- 
port them  for  some  time  in  the  country.  He 
had  set  out  for  Rochelle,  where  a  part  of  the  pur- 
chases necessary  for  our  establishment  had  l)een 
made  in  our  name.  Monsieur  de  Repentigny, 
who  was  already  at  Rochelle,  sent  his  certificate 
in  our  favor  and  that  of  three  or  four  Cana- 
dians then  in  France,  The  whole  presented  to 
the  interested  gentlemen,  they  answered  our  Fa- 
thers, through  Monsieur  de  Lauzon,  that  we 
must  abide  by  the  first  order  and  wait  till  next 
year,  adding  that  he  wrote  in  earnest,  that  our 
Fathers  had  only  to  remain  at  Rochelle  on  his 
word,  that  the  answers  would  infallibly  be  fa- 
vorable, and  that  all  sort  of  satisfaction  should 
be  given  us. 

*  Peter    le    Gardeur,    Sieur    de    Repentign}',    Lieutenant-Governor. 
"  Journal  des  Jesuites,"  pp.  3,  65,  etc. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  363 

Soon  after  a  member  of  the  Company,  an  in- 
timate friend  of  ours,  revealed  to  our  Fathers 
that  it  was  a  trick  played  by  Monsieur  de  Lau- 
zon  ;  that  he  had  been  the  first  to  ridicule  our 
manifests  and  arguments,  and  that  he  and  Mon- 
sieur de  la  Madeleine  *  had  tried  to  persuade 
the  meeting  that  they  must  not  have  religious 
without  revenues  in  new  colonies,  and  that  the 
queen-mother  had  quite  recently  been  preju- 
diced. He  added  that  while  conversing  with 
Monsieur  de  Lauzon  on  our  affairs  a  few  days 
before,  the  latter  had  told  him  in  express  words  : 
"The  Recollects  must  sell  their  lands,  renounce 
their  rights,  and  agree  with  the  Jesuits,  who  will 
do  well  by  them.  These  Fathers  understand 
nothing  with  all  their  reasons  ;  they  are  not  for 
our  times,  that  was  good  formerly ;  but  in  the 
age  we  live  in  morals  have  been  reformed,  and 
we   have   even    discovered   that   we   must   use    the 


*  Evident!)'  the  Rev.  James  de  la  Ferte,  Abb6  de  la  Magdeleine  de 
Chateaudun,  councillor  and  almoner  to  the  king,  one  of  the  Hun- 
dred Associates.     Creuxius. 


364  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

temporal  to  establish  the  spiritual.  A  country 
is  then  better  governed.  The  Recollects  are 
your  friends;  tell  them  to  think  no  more  about  it." 
This  was  enough  to  deprive  our  Fathers  of 
all  hope,  seeing  themselves  thus  sent  from  Cai- 
phas  to  Pilate.  The  province,  however,  con- 
tinued to  make  new  protestations  in  the  name 
of  the  syndic,  declaring  that  if  we  were  stopped 
by  force  we  did  not  abandon  our  case.  •Mean- 
while a  procuration  was  made  out  to  the  Reve- 
rend Father-Guardian  of  Rochelle  for  the  use  of 
eight  arpents  of  our  cleared  lands  to  Monsieur 
de  Repentigny ;  and  although  this  grant  was 
purely  gratuitous  on  our  part,  that  gentleman, 
who  has  left  his  hereditary  probity,  generosity, 
and  liberality,  to  his  family,  one  of  the  highest 
in  Canada,  chose  to  make  us  an  annual  return  ; 
the  rest  of  our  lands  had  in  preceding  years 
been  similarly  given  up  to  the  Hospital  Nuns 
on  condition  that  it  should  be  without  prejudice 
till  our  return,  and  that  they  would  by  letter 
make  the  avowal  to  the  province. 


OF   THE    FAITH.  365 

Subsequent  to  that  time  Monsieur  d'Avau- 
gour  granted  a  part  by  concession  to  Monsieur 
de  Lobbinier,"^'  Lieutenant-General.  It  is  true 
tliat  some  years  after — namely,  in  1668 — the 
Sieur  Bequet,f  Notary  Royal  at  Quebec,  hav- 
ing asked  us  some  portion,  particularly  the  con- 
vent ground  and  three  or  four  arpents  around, 
the  province  granted  him  the  use  without  preju- 
dice to  our  rights. 

It  happened  that  in  November,  1650,  one  of 
our  friends  in  the  Canada  Company  took  the 
trouble  to  come  to  our  convent  at  Paris  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Father  Placidus  Gallemant,  his  particular 
friend,  then  guardian  of  the  house,  on  purpose  to 
ask  him  whether  we  would  not  send  religious  to 
Canada,  assuring  us  that  we  were  more  and  more 
desired  by  the  majority  of  the  French  settlers,  as 
deputies  just  come  from  Canada  had  severally  as- 
sured him — namely,  Messrs.  Geodfroy,  Admiral  of 

*  Louis  Theantre  Chartier  de  Lotbiniere,  member  of  the  Council 
and  Lieutenant  of  Quebec.  Daniel,  "  Nos  Gloires,"  i.  pp.  177-9. 
Tangua}',  "  Dictionnaire  Genealogique,"  p.  120. 

f  Remain  Becquet  died  in  1682.      Tanguay,  p.  36. 


366  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

the  fleet;*  de  Tilly,  a  gentleman;  and  Maheu, 
syndic  of  the  country  ;  f  that  we  could  see  them 
about  it ;  that  he  had  spoken  to  several  of  his  as- 
sociates, who  said  that  there  was  no  difficulty — on 
the  contrary,  that  our  return  was  absolutely  neces- 
sary ;  that  it  was  an  act  of  justice  ;  that  the  set- 
tlers had  no  quiet  in  conscience  on  account  of  cer- 
tain clashings  of  interest  which  had  arisen  in  Ca- 
nada with  those  to  whom  they  had  to  confess  (these 
are  the  words  of  his  statement).  He  added  that  if 
we  did  not  take  this  step  the  deputies  and  the 
Company,  in  default  of  us,  would  take  measures 
to  send  over  secular  priests. 

On  these  advances  the  Reverend  Father  Raphael 
le  Gault.  then  provincial,  wished  to  try  in  his  turn 
whether  he  would  be  more  fortunate  than  his  pre- 
decessors. He  summoned  to  Paris  Father  Paul 
Huet,  who  was  of  the  community  of  Rouen,  and 
Brothers   Gervase    Mohier   and    Charles   Langois- 


*  John  Paul  Godfrey.     Tanguay,  p.   274;   "  Jesuit  Journal,"  p.   144. 
f  Probably  James  Maheu    (Tanguay,    p.  403),  though  I  do  not  find 
that  he  ever  held  any  such  position  as  syndic  of  the  colony. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  367 

seux,  who  knew  Canada,  and  gave  them  as  asso- 
ciate Father  Zachary  Moreau,  a  man  of  intelh- 
gence  and  mind,  in  order  to  negotiate  our  return 
once  more.  We  called  on  our  friend,  who  advised 
us  not  to  go  to  court,  hut  to  apply  directly  to  the 
Company,  to  whom  we  could  present  our  request 
at  the  general  meeting  to  be  held  on  the  i6th  of 
January,  1651,  and  that  we  should  surely  find  no 
opposition  ;  that  even  Monsieur  de  Lauzon  was 
entirely  changed,  provided  it  cost  the  Company 
nothing  ;  that  we  must  visit  them  privately,  and 
above  all  confer  with  the  deputies  from  Canada. 

No  part  of  this  advice  was  neglected.  The 
deputies  told  us  more  than  we  wished  to  know, 
and  more  than  charity  permits  me  to  give  to  the 
public,  and  at  last  they  told  us  resolutely  that  they 
sought  some  one  to  place  as  parish  priest  at  Que- 
bec and  at  some  of  the  principal  places,  their  con- 
sciences being  too  much  hampered  in  having  to 
treat  with  the  same  persons  in  temporals  and  spir- 
ituals, having  no  one  to  whom  they  could  confi- 
dently communicate  the  difficulties  of    their  con- 


368  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

science,  and  that  on  our  refusal  they  would  look 
for  others. 

The  members  of  the  Company,  instructed  by 
these  deputies,  addressed  us  nearly  the  same  lan- 
guage, especially  Monsieur  Rose,  Director ;  Messrs. 
Margonne,  des  Portes,  Beruhier,"  and  Chamftou, 
adding  in  direct  words  :  "  Fathers,  it  would  have 
been  far  better  to  let  you  go  back  to  Canada  rather 
than  others.  It  is  a  great  injustice  they  do  you  and 
the  settlers.  We  see  well  where  this  comes  from. 
Present  your  reasons,  and  justice  shall  be  done  to 
you  and  the  people  of  the  country."  We  then 
called  on  Mr.  Cheffault,  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
pany, who  told  us:  "Formerly,  Fathers,,!  was 
against  you,  and  I  beg  God's  pardon.  I  had  been 
deceived.  Now  I  see  that  I  was  wrong.  Would 
to  God  that  you  had  gone  there  long  ago  to  act 
as  parish  priests  ;  they  want  you  there  for  the 
repose  of  their  consciences." 


*  John  Rose,  merchant,  of  Rouen  ;  Claude  Margonne,  of  Soissons, 
Royal  Councillor  and  Treasurer  ;  Peter  des  Portes,  Seigneur  de  Lig- 
nery  ;  James  Berruyer,  Sieur  de  Mausellemont. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  369 

Fathers  Zachary  Moreau  and  Paul  Huet  begged 
and  entreated  him  to  assure  these  gentlemen  that, 
even  if  permitted  to  return  to  Canada,  we  should 
not  undertake  to  exercise  parochial  functions  there, 
in  order  to  avoid  jealousy,  unless  the  Reverend 
Jesuit  Fathers  showed  us  the  same  cordiality  as  our 
old  Fathers  had  done  them  in  1625,  when  Father 
Joseph  le  Caron,  the  Superior,  permitted  and  even 
begged  them^  in  order  to  maintain  friendship, 
to  exercise  parochial  functions  alternately  with  us 
at  Quebec  ;  that  we  should  merely  exercise  our 
ministry  there,  as  in  France  and  everywhere,  for  the 
relief  of  consciences  and  in  concert  with  the  re- 
verend Jesuit  Fathers. 

They  also  called  on  Monsieur  de  Lauzon,  Inten- 
dant  of  the  Company,  who,  as  usual,  appeared  to 
decide  in  our  favor.  We  even  presented  him  the 
bonds  of  our  syndic  and  others  to  show  him  that 
we  could  not  be  a  burden  to  the  country  nor  the 
colony,  with  the  draft  of  a  request  which  he  ap- 
proved.    He  asked  how  many  religious  we  wished 

to  send,  and  was  told  three — two  priests,  and  one 
24 


37<^  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

lay  brother  to  go  and  examine  the  grounds.  He 
even  directed  the  request  to  be  given  to  him  when 
ready,  and  answered  for  our  success. 

In  fact,  our  Fathers  were  simple  enough  to 
have  no  doubts  of  success.  They  even  took  all 
measures  with  the  Canada  deputies.  The  religious 
were  got  ready  for  the  voyage,  and  at  ast  the  re- 
quest was  taken  to  Monsieur  de  Lauzon  on  the 
15th,  signed  "  Father  Raphael  le  Gault,  Provin- 
cial ;  Vincent  Paladuc,  Definitor  ;  Placidus  Galle- 
mand.  Guardian  of  Paris,"  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  province,  accompanied  by  a  manifest  con- 
taining our  reasons  and  rights  in  detail. 

The  meeting  was  held  on  the  1 6th  of  said  month 
of  January  in  Monsieur  de  Lauzon's  own  house.  It 
began,  proceeded,  and  closed  without  our  said  Sieur 
de  Lauzon's  producing  our  request  till  the  meeting 
adjourned  and  the  members  rose  to  leave  ;  then 
Monsieur  Clarantin  ^'  said  to  Monsieur  de  Lauzon  : 
"  You  say  nothing  of  the  request  of  the  poor  Re- 
collect  Fathers."      The  members  sat  down  again. 

*  Simon  Clarentin. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  371 

The  said  Sieur  de  Lauzon  read  a  part  of  the  re- 
quest, which  he  interrupted  to  make  a  harangue 
directly  against  our  interests.  At  last  the  decision 
was  pronounced  that  as  the  Company  had  relin- 
quished the  trade  to  the  inhabitants,  and  in  conse- 
quence were  sending  no  vessels  to  Canada,  he  ""  re- 
mitted our  matter  to  the  judgment  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and,  in  case  they  had  no  objection,  he  ^  per- 
mitted us  to  pass.  So  three  of  the  members, 
intimate  friends  of  ours,  informed  us,  and  they 
told  us  to  beware  of  Sieur  de  Lauzon,  because  he 
had  not  wished  the  result  to  be  entered  at  the  time 
in  the  Company's  book  or  endorsed  on  the  re- 
quest. 

According  to  this  decision,  we  had  reason  to 
believe  our  matter  sure,  as  of  four  Canadian  set- 
tlers, who  were  deputies  in  France,  the  three 
already  named  absolutely  demanded  the  Recol- 
lects, and  we  were  sure  of  their  constancy  ;  but 
we  were  greatly  surprised  when,  on  the  19th  of 
January,  our  request  was  returned  thus  answered  : 

*  Evidently  for  "  they." 


372  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

"  As  the  Company  has  resigned  the  beaver  trade  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  accordingly  send  no  vessels 
to  New  France,  the  Company  has  resolved  that  the  request 
be  transmitted  to  the  Council  of  Quebec  and  the  syndic 
of  the  country,  that  on  their  report  the  Directors  and  Asso- 
ciates may  provide.  To  whom  it  shall  belong,  by  resolution 
made  January  i6,  165 1,  at  the  meeting  of  New  France. 
"  Signed,  A.  CHEFFAULT, 

"  Secretary  of  said  Company  "  (with  scroll). 

This  written  answer,  as  can  be  well  seen,  was  not 
according  to  the  Assembly's  resolution,  as  Monsieur 
de  Lauzon  had  inserted  in  that  answer  that  it 
should  be  communicated  to  the  Council  of  Que- 
bec, while  the  Company,  as  most  assured  us,  had 
asked,  what  was  quite  different,  to  communicate  our 
request  to  the  deputies  and  inhabitants  of  the 
country  then  in  France.* 

Our  Fathers  had  recourse  to  these  deputies,  who 
all  gave  us  their  certificates  and  told  us  at  the  same 
time  that  they  had  learned  from  good  sources  that 
our  affair  would  come  to  nothing,  unless  the  gentle- 
men of  the  Company  gave  another  answer  on  a 

*  This  is  not  borne  out  by  his  previous  statement,  where  nothing  is 
said  of  deputies  in  France.     See  p.  371. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  373 

new  request  ;  that  it  was  trifling  with  us  to  no  pur- 
pose to  send  us  to  the  Council  of  Quebec,  which 
was  composed  of  the  governor,"^'  a  creature  of  the 
Jesuits,  of  the  Superior  of  the  mission, f  a  syndic 
and  inhabitants  who  could  easily  be  gained  so  as  to 
prevent  our  return ;  they  also  added  that  they  were 
on  the  point  of  sending  Monsieur  de  Lauzon  as 
governor,  and  that  we  might  take  measures  ac- 
cordingly. 

A  new  request  was  presented  to  the  Company 
on  the  30th  of  January  at  a  meeting  held  at  the 
house  of  Monsieur  des  Portes.  Monsieur  de  Lau- 
zon contrived  to  have  none  of  our  friends  there  but 
Messrs.  Margonne  and  Robinot;  the  others,  espe- 
cially Monsieur  de  la  Madeleine,  declared  that  the 
answer  endorsed  on  our  request  must  be  adhered 
to  ;  that,  moreover,  they  gave  us  all  permission  to 
go  and  advocate  our  matter  before  the  Council  of 
Quebec,  which  answer  w^as  formally  announced 
to  us. 

*  Louis  D'Ailleboust,  Sicur  dc  Coulonges.  See  Shea's  "  Charle- 
voix," ii.  p.  205. 

f  Father  Paul  Ragueneau. 


374  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Thus  closed  all  our  negotiation,  which  ended  in 
sending  the  matter  to  Quebec  with  letters  of  recom- 
mendation from  several  persons.  We  obtained  let- 
ters even  from  the  Reverend  Father-Provincial  of 
the  Jesuits  and  the  Reverend  Father  Lallemant, 
Superior  of  the  professed  house,  who  was  then  in 
France,  Superior  of  the  missions,  the  latter  promis- 
ing us  every  kind  of  favor  when  he  should  be  in 
the  country ;  he  even  wrote  a  letter  protesting  it  to 
our  Reverend  Father-Provincial  and  the  province, 
so  that  we  did  not  yet  despair  of  returning. 

The  reader  may  think  that  if  the  reverend  Jesuits 
had  been  in  our  place,  and  the  Recollects  in  theirs, 
we  should  not  have  failed  to  make  their  request 
succeed  and  be  approved,  and  employ  our  credit  in 
doing  so,  as  we  had  formerly  held  firm  against  the 
whole  country  in  calling  them  to  Canada,  and 
maintaining  them  there  when  they  arrived  in  1625, 
and  the  governor  and  inhabitants  opposed  their 
reception.  Charity,  which  is  upright  and  simple, 
persuades  us  that  these  Reverend  Fathers  did  not 
lack  good-will  to  do  the  same  for  us  in  this  case, 


OF  THE  FAITH.  375 

and  that  they  only  wanted  credit  and  power  in  the 
Council  of  Quebec,  as  they  assured  us  the  next 
year  by  letter.  It  is  easy  to  judge  that  the  deci- 
sion was  not  in  our  favor,  and  that  Monsieur  de 
Lauzon,  who  then  went  to  the  country  as  gov- 
ernor, did  not  fail  to  continue  the  Recollects  the 
services  he  had  so  far  rendered  them. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  FRANCE  AMONG 
THE  INDIAN  NATIONS  DURING  THE  YEARS  THAT 
THE  COUNTRY  WAS  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  GEN- 
TLEMEN OF  THE  COMPANY,  SEIGNEURS,  AND  PRO- 
PRIETORS   OF    CANADA    BY    ROYAL    GRANT. 

A  LL  the  Christian  world  recognizes  as  a  system 
^  ^  of  religion  and  first  principle  of  faith  that 
the  real  and  sincere  vocation  and  conversion  of 
tribes  and  nations  is  the  great  work  of  God's 
mercy  and  power,  and  the  triumphant  efficacity  of 
his  grace   and   spirit. 

If  this  be  true  of  infidel  and  idolatrous  nations 
which  are  already  civilized,  ruled  and  ordered  by 
laws,  whose  reason  is,  so  to  speak,  prepared  to  re- 
ceive the  instruction  of  the  Gospel  and  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  apostolic  men  should  much  more  ac- 
knowledge this  sovereign  dependence  on  God  with 
regard  to  barbarous  nations  who  have  no  idea  of 
religion,  true  or  false ;  who  live  without  rule,  with- 


FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH.    Zll 

out  order,  without  laws,  without  God,  and  without 
worship  ;  whose  reason  is  absolutely  buried  in  mat- 
ter and  incapable  of  the  most  ordinary  reasonings 
of  religion  and  faith. 

Such  are  the  nations  and  the  tribes  of  New 
France  of  whom  I  here  treat.  Missionaries  must 
in  good  faith  acknowledge  that  their  conversion  is 
beyond  our  powers  ;  that  it  belongs  only  to  the 
Father  of  Spirits,  as  St.  Paul  says,  and  Him  who 
holds  the  hearts  of  all  men  in  his  hands,  to  raise 
the  veil  which  covers  the  eyes  of  this  barbarism,  to 
clear  their  reason,  disperse  the  chaos  of  darkness 
in  which  they  are  buried,  change  their  inclinations, 
melt  the  hardness  of  their  inflexible  hearts,  civilize 
these  people,  render  them  susceptible  of  laws 
which  right  reason  suggests  and  subject  them  to 
those  which  religion  prescribes  ;  in  a  word,  to  en- 
lighten the  blind  and  lead  them  by  the  power  of 
his    grace  to  the    knowledge    and    love    of   truth. 

This  is  the  foundation  of  the  true  apostolate 
of  the  native  tribes  of  Canada  which  are 
known   to    us.      The    great    point    of    simplicity 


37^  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

of  faith,  humility,  grace,  and  the  unction  of 
the  Spirit  should  animate  those  whom  God  ap- 
points and  calls  to  the  publication  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  these  nations. 

It  must  be  laid  down  as  a  principle  that  no 
one  can  be  drawn  efficaciously  to  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  unless  the  Father  of  lights  draw 
him  by  the  power  of  his  victorious  grace  ;  that 
his  invisible  Spirit  breatheth  where  it  wills  and 
when  it  wills  ;  that  the  moments  of  grace  are 
known  to  God  and  in  the  hands  of  the  power 
of  the  father  and  master  of  our  destiny ;  that, 
having  called  all  men  to  the  Faith  in  the  pre- 
paration of  his  good-will  common  to  all,  he 
gives  them,  in  truth,  in  time  the  natural  and 
supernatural  graces  interior  and  sufficient  to  at- 
tain it,  as  distinguished  from  those  efficacious 
and  triumphant  graces  which  cannot  be  resisted  ; 
that  the  work  is  not  only  and  simply  of  him 
who  runs,  nor  of  him  who  wills,  but  chiefly  of 
Him  who  enlightens  and  touches  by  an  effect 
of    his    great    mercy ;    that   d  fortiori  the   work 


OF  THE  FAITH.  379 

and  glory  arc  not  his  who  preaches,  who  plants 
or  waters— he  is  but  a  feeble  instrument — but 
rather  1 1  is  who  by  his  grace  gives  the  in- 
crease; that  faith  is  a  gift  of  God;  that  the 
sacrifice  of  all  nature  is  not  capable  of  meriting 
by  any  right  the  first  grace  of  vocation,  which 
does  not  depend  on  merit ;  that  men  labor  in 
vain  to  raise  the  spiritual  edifice  of  the  faith, 
unless  God  aids,  prepares,  and  disposes  the  in- 
dividual. Humble  simplicity  which  should  be 
the  soul  of  apostolic  labors  and  the  application 
of  the  missionaries  of  Canada ;  to  attach  them 
to  their  ministry  in  this  spirit  of  dependence  as 
simple  organs  and  feeble  instruments  of  the  cha- 
rity of  Him  to  whom  alone  should  be  referred 
the  glory  of  the  conversion  of  the  little  flock  ; 
but  profound  annihilation  under  God's  orders, 
when  zeal  has  not  its  effect,  too  happy  to  be 
able  to  say  we  have  done  our  part,  what  God 
demands  of  our  ministry,  even  when  want  of 
success  should  oblige  us  to  acknowledge  that  we 
are   useless  servants. 


380  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Undoubtedly  the  sons  of  St.  Ignatius  are  tru- 
ly apostolic  men,  a  body  full  of  light,  ability, 
virtue,  grace,  zeal,  and  courage  to  undertake  all 
for  the  conversion  of  souls,  to  support  the  most 
arduous  difficulties,  and  suffer  contradiction  and 
chagrin  in  the  accomplishment  of  their  ministry. 
We  know  that  by  a  special  vow  they  are  de- 
voted to  the  missions  as  vessels  of  election,  des- 
tined to  bear  the  name  of  the  Lord  to  the 
tribes  and  nations  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  that 
Providence  has  fortified  the  church  militant  with 
this  new  body  to  second  the  labors  of  all  others, 
religious  and  secular,  in  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ. 

We  have  in  previous  chapters  brought  these 
reverend  Fathers  to  New  France,  where  we  left 
them  in  their  house  near  Quebec,  which  was 
afterwards  for  a  time  the  centre  of  all  their  mis- 
sions. On  them  must  roll  during  the  present 
epoch  the  whole  Canadian  church,  they  being 
confident  that  the  harvest  was  not  too  ample 
for    their    great    zeal,    and     that     they    had    men 


OF  THE  FAITH.  38  I 

enough  to  minister  to  the  French  and  instruct 
the  Indians.  We  doubt  not  they  undertook  and 
continued  the  work  in  that  interior  disposition 
which  we  have  described  in  the  beginning  of 
this  chapter.  This  has  always  convinced  me 
that,  as  they  glory  only  in  their  toils  and  suf- 
ferings,  they   had   no   part    in    the    Relations*   of 

*  The  Jesuit  Relations,  commencing  with  Biard's  (1611)  and  Lale- 
mant's  (1626),  are  continuous  from  1632  to  1672.  The  permission  to 
print  the  last  was  given  Jan.  g,  1673.  This  whole  series  was  reprinted 
at  Quebec  in  1S58  in  3  vols.  8vo,  and  comprises  a  vast  amount  of  in- 
formation as  to  Indian  tribes,  their  language,  manners,  etc.,  as  well  as 
of  the  labors  of  the  missionaries.  The  enthusiasm  of  zeal  may  have 
made  some  too  sanguine,  but  their  honesty  is  attested  by  the  accuracy 
of  their  statements  where  we  have  any  means  of  testing  them.  The 
other  works  on  Canada  during  this  period  refer  to  the  Relations  as 
authentic.  Boucher,  "  Histoire  Veritable,"  Avant  Propos  ;  Marie  de 
rincarnation  ("  Choix  de  Lettres,"  p.  85,  etc.)  ;  Dollier  de  Casson, 
"Histoire  de  Montreal,"  pp.  12,  16  ;  St.  Valier,  "  Etat  Present"  (Que- 
bec edn.),  p.  72;  Vaudreuil,  "  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,"  ix.  p.  371,  iii.  p.  507. 
Bishop  Laval  contributed  to  the  Relations  and  asked  others  to  do  so. 
Dollier  de  Casson,  p.  209.  The  only  charges  against  them  besides 
this  of  Le  Clercq's  work,  which  cannot  be  regarded  seriously,  are  those 
ascribed  to  the  Sulpitian  Francis  d'Allet,  secretary  of  the  Abbe  de 
Qu61us,  and,  of  course,  a  party  in  the  disputes  of  that  gentleman. 
The  Jansenist  Arnauld  published  in  his  unscrupulous  "Morale  Pra- 
tique des  Jesuites  "  ("  CEuvres,"  edn.  1780,  tom.  34,  pp.  724-734)  a  loose 
memoir  received  from  a  friend  of  d'Allet  in  June,  1693,  without  dates 
or  authorities,  and  a  memoir  drawn  up  from  conversations  with  him, 
in  which  he  says  :   "  All  the  Relations  that  the  Jesuits  have  written  on 


382  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Canada,  which  have  been  printed,  apparently,  on 
false  memoirs,  at  least  in  what  regards  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  Faith  among  the  Indian  nations. 
I  have  already  taken  the  liberty  in  the  first 
chapters  of  this  work  of  rectifying  the  chrono- 
graphic  remarks  of  the  Abbe  de  la  Roque,  go- 
ing back  to  1 61 5  to  find  the  first  establishment 
of  the  Faith  in  New  France  by  the  labors  of 
the     Recollects    of    the    province    of    St.    Denis, 


Canada  must  be  regarded  as  full  of  falsities.  As  soon  as  they  were 
printed  in  France  care  was  taken  to  send  them  to  the  ecclesiastics  who 
were  in  Montreal,  and  they  groaned  to  see  that  things  were  related 
altogether  different  from  what  they  were  in  truth."  He  adds  :  "  Mr. 
de  Courcelle  having  informed  the  court  of  this,  the  Jesuits  were 
ordered  to  make  no  more  Relations."  There  is  no  trace  of  any  au- 
thority for  this,  and  the  fact  is  that  the  Jesuits  did  prepare  Relations 
after  de  Courcelle's  time.  Rel.  1672-3,  1673-9,  1675,  Relations  In- 
edites.  D'Allet's  memoir  closes  with  a  silly  story,  and  the  last  lines 
contain  a  misstatement  that  shows  either  that  d'Allet  never  wrote  it  or 
that  his  memory  was  gone  in  1693.  D'Allet  arrived  in  Canada  in 
1657,  and  represents  de  Lauson  as  dying  in  Canada.  That  very  year, 
1657,  he  went  to  France,  leaving  his  son,  de  Lauson  Charn}',  to  replace 
him  till  a  new  governor  arrived.  The  son  was  subsequently  a  priest  in 
Canada,  but  neither  father  nor  son  died  there.  The  attack  on  the 
Relations  in  the  scurrilous  "  Recit  "  in  Murgry  (i.  p.  374)  makes  still 
worse  work  with  histor}',  and,  whether  by  the  Abbe  Renaudot  or  the 
Prince  de  Conti,  is  b)^  one  who  was  never  in  America  and  of  no 
authority. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  383 

which  Sieur  de  la  Roque  ascribes  to  the  years 
1637-8  and  to  the  zeal  of  the  reverend  .Jesuit 
Fathers.  He  has  wished  to  rob  these  reverend 
Fathers  of  four  or  five  years,  or  rather  elude 
what  he  could  not  but  know,  as  these  illustrious 
missionaries  had  scarcely  reached  Quebec  in  1632 
and  the  following  year,  when  their  ardent  cha- 
rity spread  among  the  nations  up  and  down  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  the  coast  of  Cadie,*  the  isl- 
ands of  Cape  Breton  and  Miscou  ;  and  that, 
having  in  that  and  the  following  years  received 
powerful  reinforcements  and  many  members  of 
the  society,  they  extended  and  divided,  (always) 
in  the  bounds  and  limits  of  our  former  discove- 
ries, f  where  during  the  present  period  they 
formed  missions  of  which  this  is  the  plan  : 

Their  mission  which  they  called  Our  Lady  of 
the  Angels,  at  three-quarters  of  a  league  from 
Quebec,    was    the    head  ;    that    of    Our    Lady    of 

*  Acadia. 

f  The  missions  to  the  Attikamagues,  Iroquois,  Ottawas,  and 
other  tribes  on  Lakes  Superior  and  Michigan,  the  Miamis  and  Illi- 
nois, were  all  beyond  the  Recollect  bounds. 


384  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Recouvrance  at  Quebec,  of  Conception  at  Three 
Rivers,  of  Our  Lady  at  Mont-Royal,  of  St.  Jo- 
seph among  the  Hurons  gradually  divided  into 
three  others  during  the  time  of  this  epoch  ;  the 
mission  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Tadoussac,  of  St. 
Ann  at  Cape  Breton,  of  St.  Charles  at  Miscou, 
of  Our  Lady  of  Consolation  of  Nipisiguit,  whence 
they  spread  to  Cadie  and  Chaleurs  bay  ;  the  mis- 
sion of  St.  Michael  at  Sillery  from  the  year  '35, 
soon  after  that  of  the  Holy  Family  at  Isle  Or- 
leans, so  that  in  the  year  1635  the  truth  of  his- 
tory already  numbered  twenty  Jesuits  attached  to 
the  river  missions,  without  including  those  then 
employed  in  advanced  posts  in  Cadie  and  the 
adjacent  islands  to  the  number  of  five  or  six 
laborers  full  of  zeal.* 

We  find,  too,  towards  the  close  of  the  present 
epoch,  in  1657,  the  first  establishment  of  their 
missions    among  the   Iroquois,   distributed   in  five 

*  This  is  exaggerated.  There  were  not  more  than  sixteen  Jesuit 
Fathers  in  all.  See  List  in  "  Bannissenient  des  Jesuites,"  pp.  111-2  ; 
Tanguay,  "  Repertoire,"  pp.  21-31  ;  Rel.  1635,  p.  23.  The  Indian  mis- 
sion on  Isle  Orleans  was  long  after  1635. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  385 

residences,  according  to  the  division  of  the  chief 
cantons  which  compose  that  nation  :  the  first  of 
St.  Gabriel  among  the  Agniets  (Mohawks),  on 
the  south,  near  New  Netherland,  which  reckon- 
ed three  or  four  hundred  men  in  three  or  four 
towns ;  the  second  at  the  Onnejout  (Oneidas), 
westward,  which  could  form  one  hundred  and 
forty  warriors  ;  the  third,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  fif- 
teen leagues  west  at  the  towns  of  Onnontaguets 
(Onondagas),  about  three  hundred  combatants, 
which  is,  as  it  were,  the  centre  of  the  Iroquois 
missions  ;  the  fourth,  St.  Joseph,  thirty  leagues 
thence  west  at  the  Ojongouen  (Cayugas),  divid- 
ed into  three  towns,  counting  full  three  hundred 
warriors ;  the  fifth,  St.  Michael,  at  the  Son- 
nontoiians  (Senecas),  towards  the  end  of  Lake 
Frontenac,  the  most  considerable  canton  of  the 
Iroquois  nations,  which  in  three  towns  comprised 
about  twelve  hundred  combatants.'^' 

*  This  is  so  dishonest  that   it  is  not  easy  to  trace  the  statement. 
The  Relation  for  1657  gives  the  beginning  of  the  mission  of  Our  Lady 
of  Ganentaa  at  Onondaga,    but   no  such   list   of    missions    as   is   here 
paraded. 
25 


386  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

It  is  not  my  design  to  trace  here  the  plan  of  these 
five  cantons,  and  remark  how  much  country  these 
nations  have  conquered  since  1657,  extending  their 
limits  and  multiplying  their  families  by  the  de- 
struction of  other  nations  whom  they  have  taken 
captive,  and  by  whom  they  have  fortified  and  in- 
creased the   number  of  their  subjects. 

I  here  pass  in  silence  what  they  have  dared  to 
advance  in  these  Relations,  that  in  the  year  1632-3 
they  could  perceive  in  all  these  Indian  nations  no 
mark  of  Christianity  or  form  of  a  church,  not 
even  the  remembrance  and  idea  of  the  instruc- 
tions, the  least  perceptible  smatterings  of  the  Faith  ; 
that  there  was  not  yet  any  knowledge,  even  gene- 
ral, of  the  principal  languages  ;  and,  finally,  that  all 
that  the  Recollects  had  been  able  to  do  was  to 
keep  the  French  in  duty* — as  if  so  many  zealous 
missionaries  of  our  provinces  of  Paris,  Aquitaine, 
and   Thoulouse   had   stood    idle  with   folded  arms 


*  There  does  not  appear  an}'  such  charge  in  the  Relations.  The 
Recollects  never  reached  the  Fire  Nation  (Mascoutens),  and  no  mission 
of  Recollects  from  Toulouse  is  known  at  all. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  387 

from  161 5  to  1629,  when  these  Fathers  were  in 
constant  action  in  Cadie,  on  the  sea-coast,  and 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  right  and  left,  to  the 
Neutral  and  Fire  Nations,  the  Petuns,  Algon- 
quins,  Nipissiriens,  Montagniaits,  and  the  depen- 
cies  of  Quebec,  where  they  supported  that  of  the 
Algonquins,  living  with  them  for  ten  years  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Three  Rivers,  having  on  the  spot, 
especially  at  the  Hurons,  made  six  or  seven  win- 
terings, the  last  by  the  Reverend  Father  Joseph 
de  la  Roche  Dallion,  Recollect,  with  the  Reverend 
Fathers  Brebeuf  and  de  la  Noue,  Jesuits. 

Formerly,  before  our  return  to  Canada,  and  for 
the  space  of  thirty  years  that  our  Fathers  at  Paris 
made  such  frequent  attempts  to  return,  they  learn- 
ed every  year,  with  as  much  joy  as  admiration  and 
surprise,  that  this  barbarism,  by  a  stroke  of  grace, 
was  sensibly  civilizing  and  visibly  converting ; 
that  in  the  year  1634  the  nations  showed  extreme 
eagerness  for  instruction  ;  a  great  number  of  bap- 
tisms— these  appearances  of  an  ample  harvest 
which  began  to  whiten  in  '34 ;  the  surprising  cir- 


388  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

cumstances  of  the  conversion  of  Sasousmat ;  the 
effects  of  advanced  faith  in  these  savages ;  the 
oracles  which  he  pronounces,  the  perceptible  light 
which  appeared  after  his  death  at  the  same  time  in 
different  parts  of  Canada,  forty  leagues  distant, 
rising  and  lowering  three  times  ;  ^"  the  miraculous 
circumstances  of  the  conversion  of  Manitoutchat- 
che,  his  sentiments  of  devotion,  the  solidity  of  his 
faith  in  resisting  his  wife  and  family,  and  on 
points  of  religion  ;  f  the  fervor,  zeal,  and  lively 
faith  of  Kioiiiriniou  and  his  family  at  the  bap- 
tism of  his  son  ;  J  the  marvellous  events  of  the 
conversion  of  an  Ourontinoukouen  §  squaw,  the 
animated  sentiments  of  that  woman,  her  apos- 
trophes to  the  crucifix  ;  verification  of  a  great 
number  of  sorcerers  ||   scattered  through  the  coun- 

*  This  is  to  ridicule  the  Relation  1634,  pp.  3-4.  It  is  certain  that 
this  chapter  and  pp.  164-6  of  this  volume  were  not  written  by  the  same 
person.  See  those  pages  where  a  Recollect  miraculously  converts  an 
Indian,  a  supernatural  light  follows  his  death  and  delivers  the  vessel 
from  shipwreck. 

t  lb.  pp.  5,  6.  t  lb.  p.  7.  §  lb.  p.  8. 

II  For  the  missionary  le  Clercq's  belief  as  to  the  medicine  men  see 
"  Rel.  de  la  Gaspesie,"  p.  333  :  "  I  cannot  convince  myself,  too,  but  that 
the  devil  dominates  in  their  deceits  and  impostures,  which  he  employs 


OF    THE  FAITH.  389 

try,  used  by  the  devil  to  oppose  Christianity  and 
sap  its  foundations.'''  How  in  all  parts,  from  the 
first  years,  eyes  are  opened  to  the  truth,  parents 
sending  their  children,  by  an  instinct  of  faith,  to 
have  them  instructed  ;  the  enlightened  though 
impious  arguments  against  God  and  religion 
attributed  at  this  time  to  an  Indian  ;  baptism  of 
twenty-two  catechumens ;  extraordinary  impres- 
sions of  constancy  and  firmness  of  faith  in  that 
woman  baptized  at  Three  Rivers  in  '35.t 

Can  we  believe  that  these  savages  at  first  durst 
not  become  converts,  be  baptized,  perform  the  ex- 
ercises of  religion,  and  produce  in  public  the  in- 
struments of  salvation,  for  fear  of  drawing  on  them 
the  raillery  of  others  ? — as  if  we  did  not  know  now 
that  they  are  steeped  in  perfect  indifference  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  J 

to  delude  these  nations  and  estrange  them  all  the  more  from  the  know- 
ledge of  God." 

*  Rel.  1634,  p.  14.  f  Rel.  1635,  pp.  5,  9. 

X  Yet  compare  Mere  Marie  de  I'Incarnation,  "  Choix  de  Lettres,"  p. 
55,  and  the  Recollect  Father  Lc  Clercq,  a  practical  missionar3%  in  his 
"  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  p.  206,  where  he  seems  ignorant  of  this  in- 
difference. 


390  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Among  the  Hurons  we  see  eight  neophytes  go 
through  all  the  villages  exhorting  and  instructing 
their  countrymen  ;  that  among  the  Montagniais 
Christianity  had  already  so  multiplied  and  ad- 
vanced in  '41-2  that  the  Indians  confessed  in 
crowds,  avoided  banquets,  or  went  there  without 
tasting  anything,  in  order  to  approach  communion  ; 
how  their  faith  is  so  lively  that  they  shudder  at 
the  slightest  appearance  of  sin,  that  they  feared 
not  the  fire  or  sword  of  the  Iroquois,  but  only  the 
fire  of  hell.  Those  combats  of  Christian  squaws, 
and  even  young  men,  for  purity,  from  respect  for 
their  baptism.  That  little  St.  Cyr  who  resisted 
the  threats  and  promises  of  his  grandmother : 
"  Here  are  my  hands,  feet,  body,"  said  he,  "  but  I 
shall  never  forsake  my  religion."'^'' 

We  admire  the  rising  town  of  Sillery,  spreading 
up  and  down  the  river  and  to  Miscou  the  holy  odor 
of  Christianity  and  the  ardor  of  conversion  among 
the   Indian  nations ;  that  reciprocal   emulation  for 

*  Rel.  1642,  p.  4,  etc.  Compare  Marie  de  I'lncarnation,  "  Choix 
de  Lettres,"  pp.  42,  66,  87. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  39 1 

the  Faith  of  husbands  in  regard  to  their  wives ; 
the  frequent  confessions  and  communions ;  the 
sacrament  of  marriage  commonly  administered.* 

We  do  not  doubt  the  devotedness  of  the  Ursu- 
h'nes  to  the  education  of  Indian  girls,  but  we  are 
surprised  that  these  little  girls,  by  an  advanced  faith, 
instruct  Indian  families f  who  come  to  see  them; 
we  admire  their  ejaculatory  and  mental  prayers, 
their  eagerness,  their  preparation  for  communion, 
their  delicacy  of  conscience,  elevation  and  inten- 
tion of  mind  ;  how  there  were  some  who,  after 
leavinor  the  Ursulines,  wrote  to  these  ladies  from 
the  depth  of  the  woods  their  regret  at  not  being 
able  to  go  to  confession  and  communion  every 
fortnight  as  formerly.;];  The  rules  and  exercises, 
the  fervor  of  whole   villaQ;es,   which   would  efface 


*  Rel.  1642,  p.  14  ;  1643,  p.  8.    Marie  de  I'lncarnation,  pp.  140,  185. 

f  The  author  of  the  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie  "  (p.  131)  tells  how 
the  children  there  instructed  the  aged. 

I  Relation  1642,  pp.  32-3.  Mother  Mary  of  the  Incarnation,  cer- 
tainly as  clear-headed  a  person  as  Le  Clercq  or  his  editor,  confirms  the 
Relation  in  her  letters.  "  Choix  de  Lettres  Historiques,"  pp.  68,  94, 
etc.  See,  too,  in  regard  to  the  Indian  pupils  of  the  Ursulines,  Father 
Le  Clercq,  "  Rel.  de  la  Gaspesie,"  pp.  128-g. 


392  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

that  of  the  primitive  Christians  ;  what  edification 
to  see  the  captive  churches  sustaining  pretended 
railleries  and  not  blushing  at  baptism  and  the  marks 
of  religion  ;  the  great  number  baptized  in  a 
single  mission  ;  the  letters,  full  of  faith  and  com- 
pliments, which  the  neophytes  write  to  France  ; 
how^  the  chiefs  correct  indevotion  and  repress  even 
the  slightest  faults  of  individuals.* 

We  see  the  Attigamets  come  in  a  body,  headed 
by  their  chief,  to  ask  holy  baptism  and  receive  it 
with  their  children  down  the  river.  Nations  before 
inaccessible,  so  remote  from  civilization  and  the 
Faith,  are  converted  in  confusion ;  we  even  see 
at  times  chiefs  set  over  prayer,  conferences,  and 
the  affairs  of  God.f 

We  remark  towards  the  end  of  the  second 
epoch  neophytes  at  Three  Rivers  who  thunder 
like  Pauls  and«  Chrysostoms  against  impiety  and 
vice,  in  discourses  full  of  zeal  and  fervor  of  spirit. 
From  this  time  the  Indians  down  the  river  adopt 
French  customs,  renouncing   their  ancient   usages, 

*  See  Relation,  1641,  pp.  3,  4.  f  Relation,  1641,  p. 32. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  393 

their  rustic  manners,  greased  hair  and  painted 
faces,  formed  to  politeness ;  and  in  '46  we  find  that 
during  the  winter,  away  from  the  missionaries,  they 
had  learnt  of  themselves  more  than  they  knew  the 
preceding  autumn. 

What  may  we  think  of  all  those  fictions  of 
the  Indians  of  Tadoussac,  who,  in  simplicity  of 
faith,  appoint  chiefs  to  administer  the  sacraments 
of  baptism,  confession,  and  Mass ;  that  commonly 
during  the  winter  these  poor  WTCtches  practise 
the  holy  fast ;  accordingly  the  missionary,  as 
soon  as  he  meets  them  in  the  spring,  baptizes 
sixty  ?  * 

It  is  beautiful  to  see  how  at  Montroyal  in 
'46-7  Indians  resist  French  libertines  ;  those  great 
colloquies  of  new  converts  against  those  who  were 
not ;  the  number  of  catechumens  and  neophytes, 
the  admirable  effects  of  their  penance  and  faith  ;f 


*  This  is  a  gross  perversion  of  Rel.  1646,  pp.  30-1.  For  the  piety 
of  the  Indians  in  these  parts  see  Le  Clercq,  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie," 
pp.  197,  206,  259,  534,  etc. 

f  Relation,  1646,  p.  42. 


394  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

that  of  the  Hurons,  so  ardent  that  it  could  not  be 
contained  in  their  village  :  they  pass  to  the  neigh- 
boring nations  ;  we  see  there  a  kind  of  martyrs, 
evangelical  preachers,  fanciful  prophets  who  an- 
nounce divine  vengeance,  Elis  who  resist  pro- 
faners,  fathers  who  resist  children,  husbands  con- 
verted at  the  entreaties  of  their  wives  ;  we  find 
some  who  roll  in  the  snow,  others  making  a 
bed  of  live  coals  and  firebrands  to  extinguish 
concupiscence ;  extraordinary  impressions  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  view  of  his  intimate  presence, 
in  prayer,  communion,  the  fervent  exercise  of 
virtue ;  how  they  believe  without  difficulty  the 
most  sublime  mysteries  of  religion ;  marvellous 
effects  of  a  firmness  of  faith  among  the  Nisipis- 
siriniens  and  among  the  Indians  of  the  mission 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  how  they  support  the  truth 
in  dogmatical  disputes  with  their  still  heathen 
countrymen.  So  many  favors  of  a  visible  and 
miraculous  Providence  and  sensible  blessing^s 
which  we  find  expressed  in  all  these  Relations, 
Visions,  revelations,  prodigies  are  not  spared.     The 


OF  THE  FAITH.  395 

mission  of  tlie  great  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  at  last 
produces  great  fruit."* 

All  France  has  admired  and  received  with  singu- 
lar edification  the  wonderful  operations  of  grace 
on  the  Huron  Church  in  Isle  Orleans  ;  the  fer- 
vor, regularity,  uniform  assiduity  of  these  Indians ; 
how  the  Sodality  of  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers 
was  in  great  fervor  among  them  ;  that  in  '54  they 
had  already  eighty  Sodalists  ;  the  letter  of  asso- 
ciation of  this  Indian  Sodality,  written  to  the  So-. 
dality  of  the  Professed  house  at  Paris,  was  circu- 
lated through  all  France,  and  drew  tears  of  devo- 
tion from  all.f 

But  unfortunately  about  the  year  '56  this  Huron 
Church  is  attacked  by  the  Iroquois,  who  carry  all 
off  by  treaty  and  reciprocal  convention  to  the  Iro- 
quois country  to  make  only  one  people,  one  heart, 
one  mind,  and  be  installed  in  their  families ;  in 
fact,  all  these   Hurons  were  distributed  among  the 


*  A  burlesque  of   the  Rel.    1646.     Huron  part  chs.  iii.  to  viii. 
f  Rel.    1654,   ch.  X.,    Oueb.   edn.,  pp.  22-8.     If  the  letter  was  ever 
printed  separatel}^  as  here  suggested,  it  has  escaped  our  bibliographers. 


396  FIRST    ESTABLISHMENT 

Mohawks  and  Onondagas,  adopting  immediately 
their  manners,  interests,  and  customs.'^' 

We  cannot  refuse  our  devotion  to  the  subse- 
quent Relations  when  they  describe  the  disposi- 
tion of  these  Israelites,  banished  from  their  coun- 
try, groaning  under  the  captivity  of  this  kind  of 
Babylon. 

The  Reverend  Father  Brebeuf,  who  was  em- 
ployed in  missions  to  several  different  nations  in 
Canada,  alone  converted  seven  thousand  in  his 
Huron  mission,  and  produced  a  church  truly 
animated  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  we  may  see 
in  the  life  of  Mother  St.  Augustine,  Hospital  Nun 
of  Quebec,  book  iii.f  What  fruit  did  he  not  pro- 
duce in  other  missions ! 

I  shall  say  nothing  of  the  great  progress  of  the 
Church  in  the  Iroquois  nations.  We  read  that  the 
mission  commenced  in  the  year  '57,  and  that  the 

*  Rel.  1657,  ch.  iii.,  Queb.  edn.,  pp.  5-7. 

f  Ragueneau,  "  La  Vie  de  la  Mere  Catherine  de  Saint  Avgvstin," 
Paris,  1671,  p.  179.  The  Rel.  1649,  p.  17,  says  he  had  the  consolation 
of  seeing  seven  thousand  Hurons  baptized,  but  does  not  ascribe  them 
all  to  him. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  397 

first  year  the  reverend  Father  Menard  had  bap- 
tized more  than  four  hundred  Iroquois  in  his 
single  mission  of  Dojongouen ;  *  the  missionaries 
in  the  other  four  cantons  in  proportion.  We  may 
judge  that  in  the  last  thirty-seven  years  Christianity 
must  have  advanced  annually  by  more  happy  and 
multiplied  steps,  and,  consequently,  that  all  these 
nations  must  be  converted. 

We  may  make  the  same  remark  and  draw  the 
same  conclusion  as  to  the  other  Indian  nations 
of  New  France ;  the  knowledge  we  possess  es- 
tablishes pretty  nearly  the  number  of  souls  that 
compose  them,  so  that,  making  a  total  of  the  con- 

*  Cayuga.  The  Rel.  1657,  ch.  xvi.,  Quebec  edn.,  pp.  42-4  ;  "Early 
Chapters  of  Cayuga  History,"  pp.  21-26,  gives  the  account  of  Menard's 
first  year,  but  does  not  state  the  number  of  baptisms.  It  states  that  the 
nucleus  of  his  flock  were  Hurons.  After  Menard's  death  the  Rel. 
1663,  ch.  viii.  (Queb.  edn.,  p.  23),  in  a  somewhat  inflated  passage 
speaks  of  his  gathering  "  an  Iroquois  church  which  in  a  short  time  he 
composed  of  400  Christians."  This,  in  the  text,  is  disingenuously 
transformed  into  400  baptisms,  although  the  Rel.  1657  shows  that  most 
of  his  ilock  were  Huron  captives.  The  Cayuga  mission  did  not  con- 
tinue from  that  time  thirt)'-seven  years  ;  it  was  almost  immediately 
broken  up,  and  not  restored  till  1669.  Its  whole  history  can  be  seen 
in  Hawley's  "Early  Chapters,"  Auburn,  1879.  Seech,  xviii.,  vol.  ii., 
for  the  condition    of  Canada. 


39^  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

versions  each  year  from  the  return  of  the  French 
to  Canada,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  Church  is  per- 
fectly estabHshed  there,  and  that  there  is  very  little 
infidelity  left  intermingled. 

We  must  also  see  that  they  aspired  there  to 
Christian  perfection  :  they  ordinarily  accused  them- 
selves of  the  slightest  imperfections  ;  public  con- 
fessions and  penances  were  in  use,  a  kind  of  in- 
quisition, devotions  and  the  frequentation  of  the 
sacraments.  We  see  squaws  draw  a  crucifix  from 
their  bosoms  and  present  it  to  libertines  with  these 
words :  "  Wretch  !  wouldst  thou  again  crucify  Him 
who  died  for  thy  salvation  ?  What !  wouldst  thou 
ruin  me  and  ruin  thyself  for  a  sin  which  God 
abhors  ? "  ^'  We  see  squaws,  too,  disputing  with 
the  Dutch  about  the  veneration  of  images,  speak 
like  theologians,  and  confound  those  heretics;  we 
see  others  menace  them  with  death  for  the  cause 
of  God,  and  mock  their  torments ;  we  see  fervent 

*  Father  le  Clercq,  "Relation  de  la  Gaspesie,"  p.  146,  relates  how 
his  neophytes  were  scandalized  by  an  angry  woman  who  threw  her 
hieroglyphic  prayers  in  the  fire  ;  and  on  p.  151  her  repentance  and 
reparation.     See  Bishop  St.  Valier,  "  Etat  Present,"  p.  68. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  399 

Christians  exhort   their  brethren   in  death  by  the 
most  touching  words.* 

Yet  we  cannot  bear  that  they  should  impose 
on  a  missionary  whom  I  knew  by  making  him 
say  in  the  fourth  decade  that  he  announced  the 
first  words  of  the  Gospel  to  the  Onnontiogats, 
Neuters,  and  Hurons,  captives  among  the  Tshon- 
notouans,'!'  and  that  the  first  two  nations  had  never 
scarcely  seen  Europeans ;  yet  it  is  notorious  that 
from  1616  to  1629  missionaries  had  announced 
the  Gospel  to  them,  w^hich  that  rev^erend  Father 
himself  could  not  deny.  J     Would  to  God  all  these 

*  This  alludes  to  Rel.  1670,  ch.  v.  §  5  (Quebec  edn.,  pp.  32-3).  It 
will  interest  bibliographers  to  notice  that  the  Jesuit  Relations  even  at 
this  time  had  become  scarce.  This  fierce  attack  on  them  cites,  so  far 
as  I  can  trace  the  allusions,  onl)^  the  volumes  for  1634,  1635,  1642, 
1646,  1649,  1654,  1657,  and  1670.  Arnauld,  the  great  Jansenist  op- 
ponent of  the  Jesuits,  had  his  attention  drawn  to  the  Relations  by  this 
work,  and  he  found  difficult)^  in  getting  at  them.  "  It  was  not  easy  to 
find  any  after  such  a  lapse  of  time,  for  all  know  that  this  sort  of 
ephemerals  (feuilles  volantes)  are  easil}'  lost."  However,  at  a  "great 
library,"  which  he  does  not  name,  he  discovered  those  for  1633,  1636, 
1637,  163S,  1640-1,  1642,  1643,  1644,  1650-1,  1653-4,  1661-2,  1662-3, 
1666-7,  1671-2.     "  Morale  pratique  des  Jesuites." 

f  Senecas. 

X  What  Father  James  Fremin  really  sa)-s  in  the  Rel.  1670,  ch.  ix. 
(Quebec  edn.,  p.  69),  is  :   "  This  town  (Gandougarae)  is  composed  of 


400  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Relation  churches  were  as  true  and  real  as  all  the 
country  admits  them  to  be  chimerical.  Had  they 
formerly  existed,  could  they  become  invisible,  espe- 
cially in  '74-5,  when,  the  colony,  increasing  much 
more,  more  frequent  and  open  commerce  with 
France  has  caused  the  disappearance  of  this  great 
number  of  conversions,  as  well  as  the  Relations, 
which  they  have  ceased  giving  to  the  public,  now 
disabused  of  such  fictions.  In  this  they  have  acted 
wisely,  for  what  will  those  who  come  after  us  say, 
on  reading  year  by  year  such  great  progress  of  re- 
ligion, except  that  antiquity  wished  to  impose  on 
them  by  a  vain  ostentation,  or  else  that  these  pre- 

the  remnants  of  three  different  nations  which,  having  been  heretofore 
destroj'ed  by  the  Iroquois,  were  obliged  to  surrender  at  discretion  to 
the  conqueror  and  come  and  settle  in  his  country.  The  iirst  nation  is 
called  Onnontioga,  the  second  the  Neuters,  and  the  third  the  Hurons. 
The  first  two  have,  as  it  were,  never  seen  Europeans,  nor  ever  heard 
the  true  God  spoken  of."  As  to  the  Onnontiogas  this  is  absolutely 
true.  There  is  no  trace  of  any  missionar}'.  Recollect  or  Jesuit,  reach- 
ing them,  nor  of  an)^  French  intercourse  with  them.  The  Neuters 
were  visited  bj^  the  Recollect  Father  de  la  Roche  d'Allion  in  1629, 
and  by  the  Jesuit  Father  Brebeuf  in  1640  (Rel.  1641,  p.  71  ;  Rel. 
1649,  pp.  18,  20) ;  but  there  was  no  permanent  mission,  and  for  this 
work  here  to  pretend  that  there  was  a  Recollect  mission  in  these  two 
tribes  from  1616  to  1629  is  monstrous. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  401 

tended  churches  gradually  perished   by  the   negli- 
gence of  missionaries  ?  * 

I  make,  then,  a  broad  distinction  between  the 
zeal,  labors,  and  unwearied  application  of  the  mis- 
sionaries and  the  pretendedly  great  success  which 
is  boasted  of  without  even  the  appearance  of 
truth.  The  justice  we  are  obliged  to  render  the 
labors  and  care  of  these  apostolic  men  in  New 
France,  which  really  surpass  all  we  can  express; 
they  equal,  if  you  will,  the  enterprise,  courage, 
sufferings  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  the  perils  of  life, 
privations,  persecutions,  silence  even  amid  mur- 
murs, calumnies — witness  what  has  been  so  often 
imputed  to  them  in  depreciation  of  their  dis- 
interestedness ;  although  their  reputation  is  well 
enough  established  on  this  point,  and  that  their 
conduct  in  all  the  missions  of  the  Christian  world 
justifies  itself  and  puts  them  above  such  reproach 
in  Canada  and  everywhere  else.f     These  Reverend 

*  Yet  Le  Clercq's  hundreds  of  thousands  converted  in  Mexico 
(ante  p.  72)  would  be  somewhat  difficult  to  find. 

f  This  is,  of  course,  ironical,  and  the  distinction  between  the  labors 
of  the  Jesuits  and  the  Relations  of  them  a  mere  mask.  It  is  to  the 
26 


402  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

Fathers,  however,  thought  proper  to  print  and  pub- 
lish an  authentic  certificate  from  the  gentlemen  of 
the  Company,  by  which  they  declare,  to  whom  it 
may  concern,  that  these  Fathers  had  no  share  in 
their  Company."^" 

Exertions  have  been  made  to  civilize  this  bar- 
barism, to  render  it  susceptible  of  laws,f  stop  as  far 
as  possible  their  brutal  outbursts,  disabuse  them  of 
their  vain  superstitions,  thus  preparing  remotely 
the  way  for  the  Lord,  although  little  progress  is 
made ;  these  nations  being  yet  so  savage,  so  at- 
tached to  their  ancient  maxims,  their  profane 
usages,  gluttony,  slander,  pride,  intoxication,  cruel- 
ty, indocility,  that  we  seek  civilization  and  change 
among  the  Iroquois.  They  are  the  same  as  they 
were  thirty  years  ago,  and  yet  they  will  tell  us  that 

credit  of  the  Jesuits  that  they  bore  without  retaliation  the  unjust  treat- 
ment the}'  here  receive  ;  and  it  is  for  well-wishers  to  the  Franciscans  to 
deplore  that  they  were  ever  made  the  instruments  of  petty  malice. 
While  this  part  bears  no  resemblance  to  Le  Clercq's  "  Gaspesie,"  it  is 
very  like  Frontenac's  cipher  despatch,  "  N.  Y.  Col.  Doc,"  ix.  pp.  93-4. 

*  Relation  1643,  Quebec  edition,  p.  82. 

f  See  in  Father  le  Clercq,  "  Relation  de  la  Gaspesie  "  (pp.  76-85), 
the  argument  of  a  Micmac  chief  against  adopting  French  houses  and 
manners,  and  the  missionary's  reflections,  p.  85. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  403 

they  then  built  more  chapels  and  churches  than 
they  had  destroyed  before,  and  that  these  invin- 
cible Philistines  had  made  such  great  progress  in 
the  Faith. 

What  depends  on  their  ministry  is  faithfully  dis- 
charged ;  nothing  is  wanting  in  the  instructions 
either  as  to  the  tact  or  assiduity  employed ;  but  the 
seed  of  the  word  falls  in  a  barren  and  fruitless  soil, 
on  stones,  on  the  highway,  or  amid  thorns.  If  these 
nations  do  not  correspond  to  the  grace  of  redemp- 
tion offered  them,  we  have  this  resource  of  faith, 
that  they  are  rendered  inexcusable  and  God  is  jus- 
tified in  his  condemnation  of  these  savages. 

It  is  much,  but  not  too  much,  to  say  that  the 
envoys  of  God  in  this  barbarism  baptize  children 
and  dying  adults ;  this  is  a  sure  gain  for  eternity. 
But  for  adults  in  health  the  number  of  conversions 
is  so  rare,  the  number  of  those  who  persevere 
more  so,  that  it  is  hard  to  believe,  when  we  con- 
sider the  great  labors  of  a  good  number  of  mis- 
sionaries for  over  sixty-six  years ;  but  yet  would 
not  the  devotedness  of  a  missionary,  and  even  the 


404  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

sacrifice  of  his  life,  be  gloriously  rewarded  if  they 
had  converted  and  saved  but  a  single  soul  ? 

The  surest  function  of  the  missionaries  is  to 
minister  to  the  French  who  go  to  trade  ;  hence  it  is 
true  to  say  that  as  furs  become  less  plentiful  in 
the  cantons,  and  the  French  no  lonsrer  q-q  there 
to  trade,  the  reverend  Fathers  are  no  longer 
found  there,  judging  their  presence  useless  among 
the  Indians;  witness  most  of  the  missions  estab- 
lished and  cultivated  since  '32,  the  chief  of  which 
we  have  specified  in  the  beginning  of  this  chap- 
ter, but  which  they  have  been  obliged  to  leave, 
as  the  French  are  no  longer  drawn  there  by  tempo- 
ral interest.  Of  this  number  are  the  missions  on 
the  great  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  Ristigouche,  Nip- 
siguit,  Miskou,  Cape  Breton,  Port  Royal,  River 
Loup,  Cap  de  la  Magdelaine,  Three  Rivers,  Nipisi- 
riniens,  several  missions  among  the  Hurons  up  the 
river.*      So,  too,  they  were    compelled    to    leave 


*  Father  le  Clercq  ("  Rel.  de  la  Gapesie,"  p.  204)  pays  a  tribute  to 
the  Jesuit  labors  from  Nipsiguit  to  the  St.  John's.  In  i6go  the  Huron 
country  was  un'uhabitcd,  and  had  been  for  near  forty  years. 


OF  THE  FAITH.  405 

TadoLissac  to  settle  at  Chig^outimi,  without  men- 
tioning many  others  which  do  not  now  subsist. 
The  reverend  Fathers  also  serve  other  ends  ;  for 
as  these  savages  are  led  only  by  the  senses,  they 
regard  the  missionaries  as  chiefs  and  important 
men,  as  envoys  and  perpetual  residents  of  the 
French  colony,  who  maintain  their  alliance  with 
us,  arrange  peace  and  war,  who  remain  in  their 
cantons  to  act  as  hostages  and  sureties  when 
these  nations  come  to  the  settled  country  to 
trade ;  otherwise  these  Indians  would  be  con- 
stantly distrustful  and  in  fear  of  being  stopped, 
if  they  had  not  among  them  persons  responsible 
for  their  life  and  property. 

The  missionaries  also  exercise  the  functions  of 
guardians  of  the  Indians,  which  duties  they  fulfil  per- 
fectly, exercising  these  savages  in  clearing  the  land 
in  different  cantons,  which  are  so  many  advances 
for  the  colony  and   to   the   profit   of  the  Church. 

We  even  owe  to  the  credit  and  zeal  of  these  Fa- 
thers their  having  solicited  and  obtained  in  France 
from  powerful  persons  several  foundations  for  In- 


4o6  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

dian  missions,  which  they  manage  admirably,  as 
well  as  the  annual  allowance  and  grants  from  the 
king  for  the  same  purpose. 

These  Indian  missions  are  properly  the  places 
where  real  saints  are  formed  by  the  devotedness  of 
an  unwearied  zeal,  charity  to  undertake  all  and 
bear  all,  disinterestedness,  humility,  mildness,  in- 
vincible patience,  enlightened  faith  to  adore  God's 
designs ;  it  is  an  apostolate  far  different  from  what 
has  been  seen  in  other  nations  of  the  world. 

But  as  to  the  progress  and  success,  can  it  be  pos- 
sible that  this  prodigious  number  of  Christian  In- 
dians escaped  the  knowledge  of  crowds  of  French- 
men who  go  every  year  three  or  four  hundred 
leagues  in  the  forests,  to  the  extremities  of  the 
known  country,  where  they  stay  for  years  ?  Is  it 
possible  that  these  fervent  and  numerous  churches 
have  disappeared  before  such  of  our  Fathers  as 
have  penetrated  in  all  directions,  visiting  all  these 
nations,  and  so  many  other  intelligent  and  discern- 
ing people  ?  We  know  that  a  multitude  of  canoes 
come  every  year  to  the  settled  country  to  trade,  and 


OF  THE  FAITH.  407 

there  a  concourse  of  the  Indians  of  all  nations  is 
seen,  who  are  the  pick  of  these  tribes.  All  the 
country  knows  that  in  their  customs  and  manners 
they  are  quite  savage  and  barbarous  and  show  no 
signs  of  religion  ;  all  the  proof  they  give  among  us 
or  at  home  is  being  present  like  idols  at  our  Mys- 
teries, instructions,  and  prayers,  but  without  attach- 
ment, without  any  discernment  of  faith  or  spirit  of 
religion  ;  as  they  are  naturally  idle  and  slothful,  and 
besides  our  ceremonies  are  new  to  them,  they  go 
by  routine,  some  from  interest,  some  from  fear  or 
esteem  for  a  missionary  whom  they  regard  as  an 
important  chief.* 


*  This  reasoning  rests  on  a  fallacy.  The  Relations,  properly  read, 
show  baptisms  of  dying  infants  and  adults,  but  comparatively  few  of 
persons  in  health.  They  do  not  claim  large  numbers  of  converts.  The 
Huron  and  Iroquois  missions,  those  among  the  Montagnais  and  Abe. 
nakis,  still  subsist.  The  Ottawa,  Chippewa,  Menomonee,  Winneba- 
goes,  and  Miamis  show  to  thisday  the  influence  of  the  old  Jesuit  labors  ; 
and  even  the  Illinois,  where,  after  the  Recollects  retired,  the  Jesuits 
resumed  their  labors,  became  entirely  Christian.  Le  Clercq's  chief 
field  of  labor  was  an  old  Jesuit  mission  at  Gaspe,  and  his  own  account 
of  his  labors  is  so  like  that  of  the  Jesuits  that  he  could  not  possiblj' 
have  written  this  chapter  ;  he  was  practically  too  well  informed,  and 
himself  boasts  of  the  piety  of  his  converts  who  visited  Quebec.  "  Re- 
lation de  la  Gaspesie,"  p.  132. 


4o8  FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT 

All  that  can  be  done  is  to  draw  from  the  depth 
of  the  woods  certain  families  which  show  more  do- 
cility, and  conduct  them  to  the  settled  country, 
where  they  still  form  two  villages  near  Quebec, 
and  two  more  near  Mont-royal  cut  off  from  in- 
tercourse with  the  French.  It  is  in  these  places, 
then,  the  Indian  Church  is  gathered ;  and,  though 
their  language  as  well  as  their  customs  still  remain 
savage,  the  neophytes  are  kept  in  order  and  trained 
to  piety  by  attraction.  There  are  some  good  Chris- 
tians, and  although  many,  and  even  whole  families, 
escape  from  time  to  time  from  the  missionaries 
after  ten  or  twelve  years'  stay  to  return  to  the 
woods  to  their  former  torpor. 

We  are  told  that  there  are  many  Christians  in 
Europe  who  stray  from  their  duty  and  profane  their 
character  by  a  worldly  and  pagan  life  ;  but  we  are 
not  speaking  of  corrupt  morals  in  the  baptized  In- 
dians and  neophytes,  but  of  the  substance  of  re- 
ligion and  faith,  which  is  absolutely  effaced  from 
their  minds  by  an  apostasy,  a  prodigious  insensibili- 
ty and  profound  blindness,  although  it  be  said  in 


OF  THE  FAITH.  409 

the  Relations  that  even  the  Sacrament  of  Confirma- 
tion '"'  has  been  administered  to  them. 

It  is  for  us  to  admire  the  judgment  of  God  on 
these  nations,  and  to  acknowledge  his  favor  and 
mercv  in  our  behalf,  in  having  allowed  us  to  be 
born  of  families  enlightened  by  Faith,  in  a  country 
and  nation  where  it  is  secure,  where  all  preaches  to 
us  piety  and  virtue,  and  Vviiere  the  multitude  of  in- 
terior graces  and  exterior  aids  offer  us  means  of 
securing  our  calling  and  election,  if  we  are  faithful 
to  them.  Let  us  render  glor}^  to  the  Lord  for  the 
distinction  he  has  made  in  our  favor,  and  say  in 
heart,  applying  to  ourselves  the  w^ords  of  the  pro- 
phet, "  Non  fecit  taliter  omni  nationi,  etc."  (He 
hath  not  done  in  like  manner  to  every  nation,  and 

*  Confirmation  can  be  conferred  ordinarily  only  by  a  bishop.  This  is, 
therefore,  an  attack  on  Bishop  Laval,  who,  soon  after  reaching  America, 
in  1659,  confirmed  one  hundred  and  forty  at  Gaspe,  Le  Clercq's  future 
mission  (Relation  1659,  p.  10).  He  also  confirmed  one  hundred  Algon- 
quins  and  Hurons  at  Quebec,  August  24,  1659  (Jesuit  Journal,  p.  262)  ; 
and  again  confirmed  Indians  at  Tadoussac  in  June,  166S  (ib.  p.  361  ; 
Relation  1668,  p.  24)  ;  and  at  St.  Fran5ois  Xavier  du  Sault  (Rel.  1673-9, 
p.  238).  In  the  disputes  then  going  on  in  Canada,  Frontenac  and  his 
party  were  arrayed  against  the  bishop  and  his  secular  priests,  as  well 
as  against  the  Jesuits. 
27 


4IO     FIRST  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  FAITH. 

his  judgments  he  hath  not  made  manifest  to  them 
— Ps.  cxlvii.  20),  but  ever  in  sentiments  of  terror 
and  fear,  in  view  of  the  more  exact  account  we 
shall  be  oblieed  to  render  him. 


END    OF    THE    FIRST    VOLUME. 


EXTRACT  FROM  THE  ROYAL  PRIVILEGE. 

By  the  favor  and  privilege  of  the  king,  given  at  Paris  on 
the  30th  of  December,  1690,  signed  by  the  king  in  his  coun- 
cil, Menestrel,  permission  is  granted  to  the  Reverend  Father 
Chrestien  le  Clercq,  Recollect  Missionary  of  the  Province  of 
Arthois,  Guardian  of  the  convent  of  Lens,  to  cause  to  be 
printed  a  book  which  he  has  composed,  entitled  "  Le  Premier 
Etablissement  de  la  Foi  dans  la  Nouvelle  France,"  during  tlie 
time  and  space  of  eight  consecutive  years,  to  count  from  the 
day  when  the  said  book  shall  be  completely  printed  for  the 
first  time;  and  prohibition  to  all  publishers  and  otliers  to 
print,  sell,  and  issue  without  the  consent  of  the  said  appli- 
cant or  his  legal  representatives,  under  the  penalty  of  fifteen 
hundred  livres  fine,  payable  without  deposit  by  each  who 
contravenes,  confiscation  of  pirated  copies,  and  of  all  damage 
and  interest,  as  is  more  amply  set  forth  in  said  privilege. 

Registered  in  the  book  of  tlie  Community  of  Booksellers 
and  Printers  of  the  City  of  Paris,  this  5th  January,  1691, 
according  to  the  Arret  of  Parlement  of  April  8,  1653,  and 
that  of  the  king's  council  February  27,  1665. 

(Signed)  AUBOUIN,  Syndic. 

Printing  for  tlie  first  time  completed  July  26,  1691. 
The    said    Reverend    Father    has    ceded    his   privilege   to 
Amable  Auroy. 


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BOSTON  COLLEGE 


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